‘The Armagh fans are mental. They follow us everywhere.’

The days are ticking down until the Ulster SFC Final between Armagh and Donegal, which takes place at St Tiernach’s Park, Clones on Sunday.

It will be the sides’ third meeting in the space of three months, and having drawn in their first game, before Donegal ran-out one-point victors in the Division 2 league final at Croke Park, it promises to be another tight and tense affair.

Whilst it’s a difficult one to call, one guarantee is that the Armagh fans will bring the noise, the atmosphere and the enthusiasm to the game, which they do every single time the Orchard County performs.

Ahead of the Ulster final, Armagh’s Paddy Burns spoke to the media and he says that the Armagh supporters are some of the best in Ireland in terms of getting behind their team in huge numbers, and that they will the team on to perform.

“The Armagh fans are mental in the most positive sense, in that they follow us everywhere,” he said.

“There were so many games in Division Two where our away support was so much bigger than the home support, so we are very lucky. That just tells you how much they are willing us on to win something.

“If the gates were low and people weren’t turning up, we would know that there isn’t that real interest in what the team is doing, but you can tell that people are willing us on.

Does their support bring pressure or motivation?

“It is a bit of both, pressure is healthy to an extent. As long as you can handle it, pressure is healthy,” said Burns.

“If you feel pressure, it means you care about what you are doing and other people care about what you are doing. If there is no pressure on you, then you are probably not in the hunt or even interested.”

We will have more build-up to this weekend’s Ulster final throughout the week on www.newryreporter.com/sport and in our print edition, which is in shops Wednesday May 8!