EAMONN O'HARA leans back into his hotel chair and people look. There's the funeral across the room, swallowing the final portions of a sombre lunch. A bunch of female tourists in the corner hoping not to get caught as they giggle to themselves. The locals scattered throughout the lobby wondering just when the rain will ease and they can get on with their Thursday.

Each with their own reason for a quick glance. He knows but doesn't flinch, and instead continues on with a chat about confidence. His confidence. It's the sallow skin, you suggest.

"Are you kidding? That's got me in more trouble than anything. Remember last year against Westmeath. The sending off. How the referee confused me with Sean Davey, how he gave me a second yellow because he thought we were the same person. I'm naturally like this. Sean, he's a sun bed man."

So what is it then that makes you border on arrogant?

"It's hard to know. It comes from within. If you don't believe in yourself you'll never do anything. Like I have never drank and never will but you'll see me hunting or surf boarding or in the middle of a nightclub, dancing, having as much fun as anyone. I don't understand people who don't feel that way. This confidence is just part of me and I live every minute. But then it's a team game and there are plenty of other guys around who have probably doubted themselves and what they can do."

So has football helped you, are you a more confident person because you've been the best Sligo player in a generation?

"If it was football that altered my attitude, I'd be less confident. Sure we haven't won a thing."

Sligo used to be better. Beat Kildare in a 2001 qualifier having had Ian Coogan sent off with the clock still in single figures. Decided to wear the same black jerseys against Dublin the next day and got themselves fined.

Beat Tyrone in a qualifier a year on in a candidate for shock of the decade, a game that was the greatest triumph in any of their careers. Took Armagh to the wire in a replay of the quarterfinal, a narrow defeat leaving them to sit at home and watch Kieran McGeeney pick up the All Ireland six weeks later. Then came the exodus.

Paul Durcan. Nigel Clancy. Dara McGarty. Neil Carew. Mark Cosgrove.

Sligo were themselves again, shadowed by Galway and Mayo as they have been throughout their existence.

Forever inferior.

"People always say we had a great time two or three year's back. They don't realise the timeline moves very quick and I find it difficult talking back on what nearly was. We weren't good enough against Armagh. We lost by two points and people say there should have been a penalty here and something else there. Here is what happened. I put the ball wide from 30 yards. Dara McGarty did it. I think Sean Davey managed it as well as did one of the others. That's four points and you are not going to win anything if that happens. So I don't look at it being a good year. Until we win something there won't have been a good year and there hasn't been one yet."

Last season was the worst he's ever known. Peter Ford had long switched colours and they drew his Galway on the opening day of the championship. It was called off due to the weather and when they went at it a week later, O'Hara only managed a point, Sligo lost by four and such was his anger and disappointment he can't even remember his old manager coming into the dressing room afterwards.

"I look at Peter and I remember him coming to us with a swagger, an arrogance Mayo people have and it's a great thing and I wish people here had it. Sadly they don't. They just want a performance, to say we gave it our best and they take satisfaction in that, at least quite a few do. That is not good enough, it makes me really frustrated. We didn't know it, but Fordy passed on his attitude to us. Problem was, last year when he was with Galway he knew us too well from his time in charge here, he knows how to try and rise us and that's the job of the referee to watch out for that. He got away with it last year and I'd like to think he won't be able to come Sunday."

What sort of things did Galway do that got you so annoyed?

"Look, I'll be straight and tell you what's been going on because there is so much crap spoken by footballers out there nowadays, cliche after cliche, rubbish and lies. Here's the truth as I see it. Galway played against Leitrim in the semi-final and there were things I didn't like to see. In the quarter-final it was no different. Mayo got Patrick Harte sent off for protecting himself when he was about to be body-checked after he released the ball. Now if that's not going to be punished, what's the point in trying to play a brand of football. Ours is a running game and teams will try and body check us and referees aren't jumping on that unfortunately. If they are going to spoil that way, or if a player wants to go and hit you a shoulder in the chest, he deserves every bit of an elbow afterwards. Patrick Harte lifted his and he got punished. That has to stop and stop in this final."

It didn't take long for their 2006 to get worse. Forever the qualifiers have been their playground and last year should have been no different. They regrouped as Sligo's latest sons tend to do, held Down to four points, beat neighbours Leitrim by the minimum and were moments away from a rematch with Galway. It was salivating. Problem was Westmeath. O'Hara was one of three Sligo players sent off and it still took a Gary Dolan goal to kill them off. But it was that O'Hara red card that caused all the controversy.

"We looked at the video afterwards and I was nowhere near the foul. It was Sean but he booked me, and I was gone. I just could not believe what was happening. The referee looked at me and he knew I was telling the truth. Sean said it was him as well but in came the linesman who might be a lovely fella but he was an arrogant prick on the day and wouldn't accept anything, he was a gobshite. I was off for a second yellow and that was that.

I thought will I stay on and see what happens but I had to go and I sat down on the bench. You are identified by your number, not by the way you look or your skin or your hair and that's not a hard thing to do. It was a bitter pill to swallow and it's stuff like that really annoys me.

"For instance, they talk about professionalism in the GAA and giving guys a few bob and things being done right but that has to be across every aspect and there's no point in that happening when this sort of rubbish goes on. Look at the umpire in the Cork-Kerry game a few days ago waving a free over that was clearly wide.

It's a small, simple job, just do it right.

It was so annoyed and disillusioned with that sending off though, it took me a long time to get over it."

Things have never gone well since Peter Ford went and it wasn't long after his departure that the lot of it began to unravel. A mountain was nearly scaled but the descent was quick and painful. The Tommy Murphy Cup came and O'Hara had no interest. Still doesn't, reckoning that if you get two chances and still can't win, it's time to hang up the boots for the year and accept you weren't good enough. Then came Dom Corrigan, defeats to Waterford and Tipperary in the 2006 league and a sacking that sounded like it was straight from Sicily.

"Dom was very nice, but was brought in to do a job. I'm sure he wasn't coming down from Fermanagh for the good of his health either and the results weren't there. Things were disjointed around then as well because some players decided to play in the Tommy Murphy, some didn't, realising it's complete bullshit and people weren't on the same wavelength. But the way it ended, I guess that was blown way out of proportion and I know Dom exaggerated it himself.

There was no white van, no players locked in the dressing room. He was normally there for training at seven, got delayed, rolled in the gate at five to eight, the team was togged out and the county board guys were waiting to have a quiet chat. Whether he had got word of something and was late on purpose, who knows. But guess what?

People thought I had something to do with it because I was injured and hadn't been around much. People talk.

"It's why I never listen to a word.

Everyone has an opinion. As a prime example I roomed with Graham Geraghty in Australia during the International Rules but even today I've heard people saying, 'What is that bollox at having a go at this young fella, he's only a prick'. People don't know him and they don't know me. If people think I'm a prick, well, fair enough. Like idiots come up to me drunk and say I should have done this or need to do that. They don't have a clue. And people can think what they want, I'm comfortable with myself and am honest and respectful or at least I always try to be and if people can't see that so be it. Now I want to be comfortable with myself on the pitch and reach my goals."

So far this year has been different, and from base camp they are all on the way up. O'Hara's back telling stories like the time he got a text from some friends on holiday in Portugal. They were walking a beach one evening and veered as they saw what appeared to be a Sligo jersey drawing closer.

They weren't wrong. As they passed a Portuguese boy, they turned to see the number eight on the back complimented by the name 'O'Hara'. But as much of a kick as he gets, he knows he's still never got to the top. It's why this year had to be different.

The first aim the panel had was to avoid the Tommy Murphy Cup by finishing in the top four in Division 2B. On the last day they needed to win in Aughrim. The home crowd were getting behind their team and the Mick O'Dwyer craze was nearing its peak.

But by five o clock the Leinster county realised they were ordinary and Sligo had made sure they'd have an elongated championship. New York was a waste of time in O'Hara's eyes from a playing point of view but the few days they had together allowed for some serious training. And then there was Roscommon.

"I remember when the draw was made, and talking to the lads right after it and we were all excited. The second we saw New York and Roscommon we said Connacht final, guaranteed. We felt we had the players even though before the semi-final people were saying this and that about Roscommon but we knew they weren't nearly as good as all that. It wasn't a great team they had and we felt we could handle them. We gave them a sixpoint advantage like gobshites we were and we had to fight back. It's fair to say we weren't great either, like we kicked 15 wides and they were in it until the end but when we went six down, something happened, something clicked and you could see we were going to turn this around.

"Fellas started going for the ball that bit harder which they should have been from the start but it was controlled all-out attack and we could see well before the end there was no doubt we were going to win. We were dominating them physically, mentally, in every position. We kicked some bad wides, if we scored half our wides we'd have kicked more than 20 points, that will give us a Connacht title. Like I'm not going to talk about this being my last year cause I don't know but when I look back now I'd have to say the taking part over the years was the best part of county football for me. But it's not about that anymore. At this stage it has to be about winning.

Anything else is bullshit and we will win. Yes, we will win. Say I'm talking through my arse all you like but I'm completely genuine when I say that."

New York Jets quarterback Joe Nameth used to say when you have confidence, you can have lots of fun.

And when you have fun, you can do amazing things. O'Hara's done with having fun, all he wants to do now is stand on the plate and wink.