Centre stage is where Niall Conway at 29 and Cillian Conlon, at 27, want to be. Even more important to both is they have been able to help their players reach a milestone.

The Ballinderry clubmen represent the fresh face of modern football management.

Conway and Conlon have disproved the theory that to earn the respect of players they have to be part of a certain managerial mould. They don't come with a pedigree of playing achievements. They can't point to a collection of medals.

And they certainly can't claim long years on the sidelines have provided the necessary compensatory factors.

Conway decided at 21 the playing side was never going to be one where he would make an impact. Conlon's current playing ambition is to recover from a wrist injury in order to help his club's third string see out their league.

For Conway, going into management with his home club under the guidance of former All Ireland medal-winner Damien Barton proved inspired. "I realised early on in my football I was never going to be able to reach really topclass heights. Simple as that."

But while Conway's playing options were limited by natural constraints, management has unlocked an unquestioned talent. His motivational ability has seen Conway move rapidly up the club ladder. On every rung, however, he has been willing to listen and learn.

Hard-edged experience was gained working with Frank McGuigan in the hotbed that is Tyrone club football. The Derry minor boss continues to manage at club level in Tyrone.

The priority, obviously, is his home county. But this afternoon Conway will also have to make a call immediately after the final whistle.

It will be to his cousin and assistant at The Rock club in Tyrone, Paul Conway. At stake against Clogher will be a place in the final of the Tyrone club championship. Both games clash. "If there was any drawback to Derry being in Croke Park against Laois it is that it means I miss out on watching the lads in Tyrone. But they understand. They will even be supporting Derry this afternoon, so that will be another first."

Both Conway and Conlon have a driven approach. County board battles don't concern them. All they want is to win the battles on the pitch. The GAA club and what it represents for Ballinderry is something both identify with.

They have had to make some tough decisions along the way to shaping a team they feel represents the best value for Derry. Having to tell lads from their own club they were going to lose out cut deeply.

But there was never going to be any convenience calls.

"It was very hard having to go through to the end with a selection process that started back in January with over 100 players turning up. There were plenty of very good players that for various reasons just didn't make the cut.

Everything was weighed up and we know what we did was based on football principles.

"Perhaps not all of the lads that were finally selected might have been the most talented. There are lads that were given Colleges' All Stars that lost out, great players.

However, the players that we took brought a balance and specific strengths. We were looking for a bunch that we wanted to play a certain brand of football. And we feel we have got that. Thank God it has worked so far."

The Derry minors have had to show the resilience expected of title contenders by coming back from pressure situations. The loss of the Ulster final to Tyrone by a single score in dubious circumstances was heartbreak. For Conway, however, it was the sense of injustice that result generated that fuelled them.

"That was so hard to take.

Most other groups of players would probably have buckled.

But fair play to the lads, they came back for the first training session a few days later ready to regroup and keep on going through the qualifiers."

Keeping going continues to be the translation of the Conway and Conlon approach.

They understand just how important the match against Laois is, not just for Derry but for Ulster football. They know that the bulk of the support will be behind the Leinster champions. They accept that Laois, like Derry, have already proved they can win in Croke Park's unique atmosphere.

Conway however is confident that the necessary homework has been carried out.

The Derry players know the job they have to do. "Look, we will have to improve big time over our quarter-final win against Cork. There were times we struggled. But as a unit we got through. We have to show that same kind of unity, but to an even much higher intensity against a Laois side that will be direct and hard from the throw-in.

There is no other way."

As the youngest managerial duo ever to take a team into Croke Park on an All Ireland stage the Derry minors bosses are just one match away from history. Victory over reigning Leinster champions Laois this afternoon would see them achieve an incredible final appearance in what is their first season in county management.