Coleraine boss Oran Kearney hopes to have another ‘out of body experience’ in this season’s Sadler’s Peaky Blinder Irish Cup.
The Bannsiders start their blue riband journey with a tough home tie against Crusaders this evening.
And while Kearney isn’t looking beyond the Shore Road men, he is urging his players to dream big again in the competition.
Coleraine last lifted the trophy in 2018 when an Eoin Bradley goal sealed a 3-1 win over Cliftonville and saw the manager end up in the manic on-pitch celebrations.
“It was like an out of body experience,” smiled Kearney. “When I snapped out of it I found myself hugging Ciaran Harkin and he was roaring at me. At that point I thought ‘what am I doing here?’.
“That’s my only memory of that experience. Then sheepishly trying to ease back off the pitch again.
“It was such a big release and moments like that mean the Irish Cup will always have a special place in my heart. You just want to try and experience that all again.”
While winning the Irish Cup provides a route into Europe next season, Kearney says that feat pales in significance alongside
lifting actual silverware.
“As great as playing in Europe is, it’s about medals and winning things, particularly in a league that’s only going to get harder.
“I look back on my journey as Coleraine manager and that Irish Cup win was such a catalyst for us as a group, as a club and the whole North Coast.
“People still talk to you today about Skinner’s (Eoin Bradley) goal and the celebrations that went from Saturday through to Tuesday. Moments like that are as important as Europe.
“I know Europe is important at board level and so on and the players get a huge amount from that experience, but for me, it’s about medals and wanting to win things.”
While the Crues lie sixth in the league and have endured a largely inconsistent season, Kearney said: “We always prepare for the best Crusaders because they are a really dangerous outfit.
“In a blink of an eye a couple of weeks ago they went and scored six (in a 6-1 win over Glenavon). When was the last time we scored five or six goals?
“There are teams out there with savage firepower who on their night can really hurt you, so only a fool would read into form or anything else.”
