ALL-IRELAND SFC FINAL: JAMES McCARTAN is such an unruffled figure it is easy to convince yourself this latest Down surge was part of the master plan.

Rarely over the summer has the manager expressed much surprise about his team’s eye-catching gallop through to the All-Ireland final. Relief, satisfaction, pride, delight; all these emotions have flickered across his face in those post-match interviews.

But he has never seemed particularly surprised when Down kept on winning.

This, after all, is what Down football teams are supposed to do from time to time. So maybe he half expected to be here for another September chapter for the black and red county.

“The obvious answer to that question is no,” he says genuinely. “At the start of the summer, every team in Ulster bar Tyrone was just simply thinking about the Ulster championship and we were no different. When that rug is pulled out from beneath you, it does take time to adjust and we have managed to do that.

“Our route through the qualifiers – and I am not being disrespectful here – gave us the right teams at the right time and we have been steadily improving by degrees. Nothing spectacular.

“We have been getting a wee bit better every game. But it is going to take another huge improvement to win an All-Ireland.”

His review of Down’s form is consistent with his attitude since he took control of the team. Go back to spring, when they started to win a few league matches and he could be found dampening down expectations. He has never shied away from allowing there is talent in his team, but has been equally adamant they have a lot to learn.

Under McCartan, they have been terrific pupils. Perhaps this All-Ireland appearance has come more quickly than he banked on.

But in Gaelic football, you take what you get when it comes. There is never any time like the present. So the Down team of 2010 are the latest team to try to keep alive the county’s perfect record in All-Ireland finals –

five wins in five appearances.

The McCartan family fingerprints are all over those feats, but they hold little interest for the manager right now.

“Look, the five All-Irelands in the past have absolutely no relevance to this bunch of guys. Would you rather have six All-Irelands out of six or seven out of nine?

“I think I would take the seven. The past means nothing to these guys; it would be nice if we can pull it off and these guys join a select bunch and then it will be history. But we are hoping that we have something to do with the future and the present. The past is zero.”

McCartan’s football career spans two distinct passages in Down’s story. He was, of course, the irrepressible, free-scoring forward on the championship winning teams of 1991 and 1994.

Those titles were the highlight of a career of dense, glittering accomplishment achieved at such a young age he was still commanding a place in the Down ranks a decade later, when some of the present team were making their debuts.

Injury ended McCartan’s involvement in 2004, but his return has brought with it All-Ireland fervour and inevitable conversation about Down’s last glorious run.

“In the previous finals, you were worrying about yourself and your performance within a team. I suppose this time you are worrying about 15 guys starting and then another 15 and the five you can use potentially to come on.

“So there is a lot of thinking about other people and a lot more time consumed.

“As a player you can worry about yourself, but unfortunately that is not the gig as a manager. It is very difficult to get inside everybody’s head and at times I fail to do that.

“You have to do your best. And you do hope that people can look after themselves by and large, but that if they have a problem, they will come to you.”

McCartan coaxed a sweeping performance against a troubled Kerry team in the All-Ireland quarter-final and then watched his team repudiate the claims of a Kildare team who demonstrated limitless courage.

Still, they will be outsiders against Cork, the champions-in- waiting for three years now.

“It is a great way to come into an All-Ireland,” McCartan says. “To be criticised and everyone, saying that they have the best team in Ireland for the past few years except they haven’t been able to overcome Kerry.

“That is a great stick for Conor (Counihan) to beat them with – ‘look at all these pundits criticising you’. I am sure he hopes you continue to do that. But unfortunately, every pundit that is criticising them is probably tipping them as well.

“So we are in a very strange situation. They are being criticised, but at the same time, in the back of everyone’s mind, they feel that if Cork play to their potential, they will win pulling up.”

Cork’s imperiousness – their physical demeanour, their excellent choice of reserves and their consistency make them favourites for this final. Down, though, are a curveball thrown at the Rebel men. The Northern star cannot have featured in their minds until August. It makes for an intriguing game.

“We are very happy with our bench too,” McCartan says in acknowledging Cork’s panel. “Any time Ronan (Murtagh) or Pete (Fitzpatrick) have come in, they have done the business. There is no doubt that Cork have a huge panel and are huge physically as well and it is going to take a huge game from us to try and win this.

“They are probably the biggest team about. You do spend a wee bit of time trying to figure out – can we win possession, can we break tackles?

“We think we have good footballers, but to get good footballers you have to earn the right to play and we are going to have to at least challenge Cork’s physicality. I don’t mean go out looking for trouble by any means, but if a man comes to hit you a shoulder, you have to try and be able to stand up to it.

“I wouldn’t say we will go looking for trouble because we would be happy if it is an open game. They are a big, strong physical team and well able to mix it and we are just going to have to be able to survive if that happens.”