TEN years from now. That’s when Keith Ricken believes he’ll know if this Cork minor football team has really been a success.

This Sunday’s All-Ireland final is the biggest game of these young footballers’ lives so far, but the Cork manager’s mind already stretches far beyond what will unfold in Newbridge.

He knows the importance of lifting the cup this weekend, but his greatest reward will come when he crosses paths with these players a decade from now and sees the men they have become.

‘The greatest satisfaction for me will be in 10 or 12 years’ time, seeing where they end up and what they end up doing. That’s the mystery that attracts me to being involved with young people. It’s not the here and now, it’s how they turn out,’ Ricken tells The Southern Star.

‘I’ve been lucky enough to be involved at this level at different times in my life and now I see lads in their 30s and 40s. They have families, they’re successful and they’re doing well. You get a great kick out of that, knowing you were lucky enough to be a little part of their journey.

‘That’s all you are really – a little influence. Maybe a big influence at one small moment in their lives, but overall just a little influence.

‘I think when you start coaching you’re competitive and you want to win games. But after a few years you realise that’s a waste of time anyway. The great kick is the people you meet, the stories and the journeys.’

Barryroe's Conrad Murphy (left) and Riley O'Donovan celebrate Cork's victory in the Munster final - an important stepping stone in the Rebels' season. (Photo: Martin Walsh)

In Cork’s run to the All-Ireland final, Ricken reveals that former players he coached have reached out to him. That brings back happy memories, but also an added joy when he sees how their lives turned out.

That helicopter view is a fascinating insight into one of the most intriguing figures in Cork GAA, who considers himself and his management team as the lucky ones in this story.

But Ricken is the right man in the right place at the right time for these young Cork footballers.

‘He is a huge influence on young people and a very good connector with the parents as well,’ Cork GAA CEO Kevin O’Donovan told the Star Sport Podcast.

‘You have three stakeholders when you are dealing with minors – you have mammy, daddy and the player. Not to mind the school coach, the club coach and all the other people. Keith is a master at that.’

Ricken’s track record backs this up, including masterminding the county’s All-Ireland U20 title triumph in 2019. Now the Cork minors, under his guidance, have knitted together a serious CV of results that have led to Sunday’s All-Ireland final.

Twice, Cork beat Kerry to retake top spot in Munster. In the All-Ireland series, these young Rebels beat Meath (3-19 to 1-12) and then Derry (2-19 to 2-8) by a combined 24 points.

On and off the pitch, this team has developed throughout the season.

‘I’m delighted for them. You have a small input into it, but it’s only a small input. Most of the input comes from them. They’re putting in the effort, the time and the sacrifice, along with their families, their clubs and everybody around them,’ Ricken says.

‘The last thing you want in any walk of life is to waste somebody’s time. I think that’s the greatest sin of all. If people give you their time, you don’t waste it. You tap into what they have to offer.

‘That’s all we’ve done really. We’ve tapped into what they have to offer and tried to refine it, bring them together and have them all playing in the one direction.

‘It isn’t that we’ve created these fellas. Their clubs, their schools and their families have done all that. We’ve just tried to refine it a bit, so it’s lovely to see it coming together for them.’

The shared hope is that Cork enjoy the dream finish to the season, but standing in their way are the defending All-Ireland champions Tyrone who beat the Rebels in a quarter-final last season.

So, while the Ulster champions, albeit given the turnover of players at minor level, will have some degree of familiarity with the occasion of an All-Ireland final, this is new territory for Cork’s young guns.

This is where Ricken and his management team step in.

‘The message we will give the lads this week is the same message we give every week,’ the Cork boss says.

‘Working hard and getting the basics right are non-negotiables. We expect that from the players and they deliver it.

‘The other thing is that you have to enjoy it. You have to play without fear. Have a go at things. You can’t be worrying about making mistakes.

‘It’s really Darwin’s theory. It’s not the strongest or the most intelligent that survives – it’s the fella who can adapt best. That’s been our motto all year. We adapt. We go with what we have.

‘We won’t ask anyone to do anything different. We’ll just ask them to play with the same attention to detail, if not a bit more.

‘If you’re good enough, you’ll get over the line. If you’re not, you can look at yourself in the mirror the following morning, brushing your teeth, and say, “I gave my all.” That’s all any of us can do.’

Cork aren’t chasing the perfect performance on Sunday, Ricken adds. He feels that it doesn't exist. Instead, it’s how Cork players react within games as they develop.

Ahead of the Munster final against Kerry, when Cork dug deep to dethrone the Kingdom in winterish conditions in May, Ricken explained to this paper how every game is different, even if a team lines out with the same players and plays the same style of football.

‘It’s like stepping into the river – once you step out of it and back in again, it’s a different river,’ he remarked at the time.

That philosophy has shaped Ricken’s own thoughts and processes.

‘There’s no such thing as the perfect performance, and we’re not looking for the perfect performance. We’re looking for the perfect response,’ he explains.

‘It doesn’t matter what’s going well or what’s not going well – it’s about how you respond. That’s the key to elite sport.

‘It’s not that there are no mistakes. A fella can make a bags of a solo, a handpass or a kick-pass. Things go right, things go wrong. The hop of a ball, the referee, the opposition – there are so many factors.

‘What we’re hoping is that the lads have the tools to respond.

‘We’ve always said that if we’re ever going to be beaten, let it be by a better team. And even then, they’ve got to be lucky to do it.

‘We have to get the most out of ourselves and get the most out of other people. That’s what we’ve always tried to do.’

Cork players have earned their place in the All-Ireland final. Their hard work has led to this moment. The occasion will be different against Tyrone, but the process will remain the same. That consistency is important when you’re working with young players.

‘You take out all the frills and the thrills and all that kind of stuff that surrounds it, and it’s across the white line and onto green grass. It’s the same rules, the same type of football. Different opposition, different noise level, but the game essentially is what we’ve been trying to play all year, and that won’t change,’ he says.