GAELIC GAMES / Sigerson Cup semi-finals: Ian O'Riordan talks to Sligo IT manager Kieran Gallagher ahead of today's Sigerson Cup semi-finals

For several clearcut reasons Sligo Institute of Technology will travel to today's Sigerson Cup finals with a reputation and record as the team to beat. As defending champions their ability is already proven, as a team their talent is still observed with envy, and their form so far this season would be daunting for any opposition.

Anything less than a victory in today's semi-final against University College Cork would be a disappointment. The ultimate target is winning tomorrow's final, where another victory would give the Sligo students a third Sigerson trophy in four years. For a college of around 3,000 students, and who could still be seen as relative novices in the competition, that would be an astonishing achievement.

Kieran Gallagher took over as manager at the start of the new term but can already take some of the credit for Sligo's air of invincibility. Gallagher led them through an unbeaten Datapac League campaign that saw them beat UCD in a replay four days before Christmas, and the Sigerson campaign opened with a 14-point thrashing of Athlone IT, and continued with the eight-point win over UCD in last Thursday's quarter-final.

But like any manager, part of Gallagher's job is playing down his team's chances: "We are carrying a few knocks from the UCD game," he says, "and hopefully nothing too serious, so we should be more or less at full strength. And I know we did beat UCC in the league semi-final, but the team they're bringing here is radically different, and maybe half the players have changed from that game. I've watched them since and seen them beat Garda College, and they're definitely a very strong team. But our spirit is certainly very good."

A native of Swinford and a former Mayo minor and under-21 footballer, Gallagher was quite simply the right man in the right place when previous manager Michael Breslin decided to step down after last year's success. As freshers manager for the past two years, his appointment was merely a natural progression.

"I'd worked with most of the lads already, and I was more than happy to step in. But we have lost around 10 panel members from last year who've now finished at the college, so we have undergone a bit of a rebuilding process, and that's why the continuity between the freshers and the seniors was useful. Other members of this year's team were on the fringes last year, so I would have known them too."

Captaining the team at centre forward is Donegal's Christy Toye, with Mayo midfielder Michael Moyles and goalkeeper Paul Durcan also back from last year. Moyles, in fact, is aiming for a third Sigerson medal.

Tactically Sligo have been impressing both defensively and in attack, frequently bringing out players to close down the opposition. UCC, however, should match them in both departments and the wide pitch of hosts Dundalk IT will help ensure a most competitive of starts to the finals. By beating UCD in such convincing fashion (3-9 to 1-7) confidence is also riding high.

Forwards Alan Costello and Andy Moran, two more Mayo natives, have been particularly lively and there's no doubting Sligo's scoring threat. "Well, we got off to a fantastic start against UCD," adds Gallagher, "and the boys were definitely up for it. But I was happy that the style of football we've been working on paid off on the day."

Depending on the outcome of Sligo's semi-final, Gallagher will either relish or run from the second semi-final between Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown - both previous winners of the competition.

Queen's fell to Sligo in last year's final but have rebuilt in typically determined fashion and remain the most consistent team in the competition, while Jordanstown are equally fancied to progress, and according to some people who've seen them should really be favourites to win.

For now, however, that mantle rests with Sligo. Winning the league and cup double of colleges' football would secure their place as the finest college team of the current era, and for a competition such as the Sigerson Cup, which was first awarded in 1911, that feeling would be hard to beat.