LAST year when Down played in the Ulster championship at Newry's Parc Esler the closest that Kevin McGuigan got to the action was as a steward on the main gates.

His club mate Damien Rafferty was wearing the county colours that afternoon. Wearing a yellow steward's bib on the terraces was no compensation for not being in the red and black. It was to be a defining moment in Kevin McGuigan's career.

This afternoon the Newry Shamrocks man will be part of the main attraction. Down and Monaghan will battle it out for a place in the provincial semi-final.

At the start of the season the prospect of Down having that dream alive at this stage of the season was remote. A miserable National League campaign ended in the relegation trapdoor opening to third division football next season.

But as far as McGuigan and his fellow Down players are concerned next season and the challenges it will bring can wait. It is the championship that always defines the true worth of a season.

McGuigan's Breffni Park introduction against Cavan to Ulster championship football was as part of a completely remodelled Down defence. At times it was a traumatic testing ground for the 23-year-old.

In the replay a fortnight ago McGuigan revelled in the home advantage. A sublime point from the corner back, the score of the afternoon, gave his side a three-point cushion in the crucial closing stages.

He is only grateful for being given another chance to play for Down. Under Paddy O'Rourke, who originally brought the Dundalk based bank official from the Under 21s into the senior squad, a single match in the National League was his only reward.

"I suppose there was a little element of frustration that I didn't get a bit more football, " he says.

"A hamstring problem just wouldn't go away. Eventually it was sorted out through the Sports Science Department at the University of Ulster.

But it meant that I missed more than seven months of football.

"When I came back last season the truth is that I didn't apply myself the way that I should have. My game went off the boil. It was my own fault.

"But getting the call back into the squad at the start of the season was my second chance. You don't get those too often. I certainly wasn't going to let it slip away."

One of the key factors in the re-energising of McGuigan has been the influence of Down joint manager and fellow Newry Shamrocks clubman DJ Kane, who has a passion for Down that his club man identifies with. "When it comes to football DJ is a driven man. There is no such thing as a comfort zone when it comes to DJ and football. DJ will never hide away from pointing out mistakes.

"The same applies to Ross Carr. Both he and DJ get across what they want. So tactically we know what we have to do. The important thing is that as a group of players we do feel very comfortable with that approach.

"We know that as far as the bare results went we had a league campaign to forget.

But we always were encouraged to try and take the positives out of every match.

That has, undoubtedly, helped us in terms of getting ready for the championship.

"We know that Monaghan got to the National League semi-finals. Meath then beat them after Monaghan conceded early goals. But you only have to look at the performance of Meath last week against Dublin to see how good they are."

On a personal front, playing in the rebuilt Parc Esler cannot be overstated for McGuigan. "I felt really comfortable against Cavan in the replay. If it wasn't for the size of the crowd I could just as well have been playing in a club match. It brought home to me the importance of being at home."

Family and friends, familiar faces and the usual dressing rooms. All the various elements that underpin the confidence factor. His father, Joe, is an institution at the grounds. His facility for recalling facts and figures is legendary, drawing on his crumpled notes and scrawled details on every game played in the county.

His roots mean everything to the Down player. Being part of the team on the pitch is only part of his identification with Gaelic games. Being able to act as part of the wider dynamic for a new Down team is important on a personal basis. McGuigan is a symbol for the future hopes of Down. An intercounty product of a club in the rapidly changing urban culture of an expanding Newry, he is vital for Down's future.

Capital investment has transformed the image of Newry from a frontier town to a city of confidence. Down is no different from a growing number of urban-weighted counties - to survive in the longer term it must continue producing players like Kevin McGuigan. As one of the emerging core of new players based at the centre of Down's investment in the future, he recognises that responsibility.

"Of course I take a great pride in the transformation of the grounds in Newry. It's a place that people want to play in and be part of. I can't believe how fortunate I am.

Playing Championship football in my hometown. If, in some small way there are more youngsters attracted to the GAA then nobody could ask for more."

Last summer Kevin McGuigan was collecting stand tickets in a yellow bib at one of the Parc Esler turnstiles. He was asked for directions. McGuigan's access was restricted to the sidelines.

Less than 12 months on he has been given given him access to his own on-pitch dreams. He won't need to ask any directions on how to find them.