Brendan Kilcoyne is one of the veterans of the Sligo team that will take on Roscommon in Hyde Park in the Connacht semi-final on Sunday, but beyond that admission he remains coy.

"You can say late 20s," he said when asked his age.

His cousin Pat, the goalkeeper, and midfielder Paul Durcan are the other "old stagers", with the rest of the team dragging the average age down to the early 20s.

Kilcoyne, who plays at centre half-back, was disappointed to be left out of the starting side in the first round against London in Ruislip, but came on as the substitute for Ronan Keane 10 minutes into the second half and played well enough to be retained.

"It was decided that a knee injury hadn't quite healed but when Ronan came off with a groin strain I took my chance," he said.

Kilcoyne said the team has a "quiet confidence" that last year's surprise win over Roscommon in Markievicz Park can be repeated.

"We are far from complacent about it. I know that they have nine different players from last year, with six playing their first championship. That makes us favourites, I suppose, but it also means that we don't know much about the opposition and Roscommon are always very difficult to beat in Hyde Park."

He said that, although most of the team are young, they have a lot of experience. "Most of the lads have nine or 10 top-class matches behind them and they will not be over-awed by the occasion," he said.

"We were a bit lucky against Roscommon who missed a lot of chances but were were within a point of Mayo in the Connacht final and could have won so we know what pressure is".

Kilcoyne shares the view with of many Sligo followers that Micky Moran has been a great help. "He took over a very young side which had been developed through the minor and under-21 grades and brought a great attitude.

"We have worked very hard since last October. Mickey believes in a lot of ball work and insists on discipline on and off the pitch, but he encourages everyone and the morale of the team is very high. There is no hard slogging but he tries to make the training as enjoyable as possible without letting anyone shirk the work.

"There is a lot of competition for places right now, with half a dozen or more ready to step in. Niall Carew, who was a regular up until injury, may be a bit unlucky not to get in while Bernard Mulhern, Ronan Keane, Peter Mullen, Con O'Meara, Eamon Cawley and Tony Brennan and a number of others are on the verge of the team, which means that nobody can be certain of his place. Nobody can afford to relax."