Maguire has a really good feeling ahead of FAI Cup semi

The Premier Division table makes for grim reading.

Cork City rooted to the bottom with four games to play have 11 points to make up on Waterford.

Mission impossible!

Indeed, Cork's fate could be sealed on Friday evening if the Blues win at home to Drogheda. At the same time Turner's Cross will play host to an FAI Cup semi-final, with St Patrick's Athletic the visitors. Ger Nash's side have the opportunity to salvage their season even if the inevitable is confirmed after events at the RSC.

A return to Aviva Stadium for a club who four times on the trot contested cup finals there in the last decade. Winners in 2016 and 2017, Seani Maguire got the only goal in the former decider. And now the aforementioned is back with City, after spells with Preston, Coventry and Carlisle across the water.

At 31, Maguire also played for his country. The final chapter of his career, perhaps, but he's determined to leave his mark in his second coming on Leeside.

Over a year ago, he returned to Ireland to help the club achieve promotion from the First Division.

"When I came back to the club 13 months ago I never thought we'd be staring at relegation," said Maguire, when speaking to the media ahead of Friday's Sports Direct FAI Cup semi-final against Pat's (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7pm).

Cork's cause this term has not been helped by injuries to Ruairí Keating and Cathal O'Sullivan, with Maguire himself sidelined for ten weeks early on in the campaign. That said, he's not citing key absentees as the sole reason to why Cork have struggled.

"Let's call a spade a spade, this season, as a whole, has not gone the way we wanted in terms of our league form," he said.

"We've had players injured but we have not been good enough in grinding out results. We've let slip 20 points from winning positions this season, that stat is one of the highest in the league. That shows the mentality, I don't think it comes down to a fitness thing because we are quite fit.

"We were 2-0 up against Sligo (in July) and we could have cut the gap to one point on them but they came back and won the game 3-2. If you're mentally switched on for the whole game, stuff like that doesn't happen."

"We have a young squad and sometimes confidence is hard to find. Simply a case of not enough senior players; bringing in Rory Feeley and Fiachre Kelleher has helped, but we just don't have enough and that's why we're in the position we're in.

"You concede soft goals, as we did early on against St Pat's a couple of weeks back, so you will feel drained. It's not a case of not wanting the ball or not wanting to do the right thing, you just feel demoralised. It has been the story of our season.

"Our home form has been quite good; we're in the top five or six teams in the league. Away from home we haven't been good enough, only won one game and that was in the cup against Finn Harps. As a collective we haven't been good enough but we have to park that to the side for this semi-final."

Maguire has been there and has a medal to show for it. He knows the drill as to that big day out at Lansdowne in November. Not yet the elder statesman, but nevertheless keen to pass on what he has experienced to the younger brigade.

"I keep telling the younger boys that we are now 90 minutes away from the best week of your lives," he adds.

"The best week in terms of the lead-up to the game and having 15 to 25 members of your family in the Aviva. It's a brilliant day out.

"For me I've had a lot of highlights in my career. Winning the 2016 final for Cork is definitely in the top-five moments and I keep telling the fellas you're 90 minutes away from that, playing in front of 35,000 people. I feel we need to salvage something from this season and we have a great opportunity now to get to a cup final.

"The best players often go through their careers without winning a trophy, winning medals.

"My whole focus when I came back to the club was to win trophies and now I have that opportunity. As one of the senior fellas in the dressing room I'm also there to motivate others, to ensure that they can also realise their ambitions."

Maguire, aware that the clock is ticking on his career, is still looking to seize the day.

"In the blink of an eye years have passed and you can't let these opportunities pass you by. I have no regrets, what's meant to be will not pass you by.

"Everything happens for a reason and there is a reason why I came back to Cork: to help the younger lads to progress, the likes of Cathal (O'Sullivan), Matthew Murray, Josh Fitzpatrick, Matthew Kiernan and two or three more."

As to his own form this season, once he recovered from that injury, Maguire can afford to be somewhat self-deprecating, when saying: "I've done OK, in playing a slightly different role, probably Europe's smallest target man!

"I'm trying to do everything. If that means doing the dirty work to help Cork City win a trophy, then I don't mind. I would give up league titles and all the individual accolades to hep this club stay up. Unfortunately, that might not be case."

So can Cork cause a surprise against their Dublin rivals?

They won't lack for motivation, with Maguire quick to disclose that "the whole country are thinking it's going to be Rovers-Pat's Dublin derby final."

Other observations also give the striker hope.

"Everyone on the outside is saying we're down and out and are not optimistic about the game on Friday, believing we are feeling sorry for ourselves.

"I have a really good feeling we are going to do it; I'm optimistic about Friday. A lot of people really care about this football club, who are bursting their arses for this football club and I'm one of them."

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