FAI CUP FINAL 2026 COUNTDOWN: ‘I’ll be the proudest person inside the stadium’ - Pádraig Amond

For all Pádraig Amond has achieved in football, nothing compares to what stands before him now.

Next Sunday, the Waterford captain will lead his team onto the biggest stage in Irish football. The veteran striker has experienced promotion races, relegation battles and cup finals throughout a career spanning more than two decades, but this one means something different.

This one is personal. And when he speaks about what lifting the FAI Cup would mean, the emotion is impossible to miss.

The veteran striker has experienced almost everything during a career that has taken him across England, IrelandWales, and further afield but now, at 38 years of age, he finds himself preparing for what could be the most special day of them all.

HIS PROUDEST MOMENT

Next Sunday the Carlow native will lead the Blues into an FAI Cup Final for the first-time in 22 yearsl.

And when he speaks about what that means, there is no hiding the emotion.

“I’ll be the proudest person in the stadium next week,” he said.

The statement comes naturally. No hesitation. No overthinking.

For Amond, Waterford isn’t simply the club he plays for. It’s the one he captains..

“I joke about being the older lad but I look at those boys like little brothers,” he said.

“I try to give them all the advice I’d give to my own little brothers. I want the best for every one of them.

“I want to lead those lads out. I want to lead them up the steps. And I want to lift the trophy for that group of players, for the City of Waterford and for a club that deserves to be on a bigger pedestal than it has been.”

Those words say everything about why this final feels different.

This isn’t simply about silverware.

It isn’t even solely about European qualification.

For Amond, it is about restoring pride in one of the League of Ireland’s most historic clubs and delivering something unforgettable to supporters who have endured plenty of difficult moments over recent seasons.

The remarkable thing is that few people could have imagined Waterford would be in this position. At various stages this season they looked destined for another campaign of struggle. They endured a 16-game winless run. Last season ended in a relegation play-off.

Yet somehow they arrive at the Aviva Stadium on the crest of a wave.

“I was really frustrated after the relegation play-off last year,” Amond admitted.

“I felt we shouldn’t have been in that position as a club.

“We were too good as a club to be there but we deserved to be there because that’s what we were. I think over the last 20 games we’ve really shown exactly what we are as a group of players.”

A SQUAD TRANSFORMED

Those final 20 games have transformed Waterford’s season.

Graham Coughlan’s arrival changed the atmosphere almost immediately.

According to Amond, the manager established standards from day one that the squad has embraced wholeheartedly.

“That’s something the manager has instilled in us,” he said. It probably sums him up as a person. He always wants more. He never gives up.

“The game against Shelbourne last Friday was all about doing the job, and that’s what we’ve done for the last number of months. The group deserves an awful lot of credit for what we’ve come through this season.”

Nothing demonstrated Waterford’s resilience more than that victory at Tolka Park.

Twice they came from behind. Twice they refused to give in. It has become a hallmark of this side.

“The first half wasn’t what we’re about,” Amond said.

“There were a few home truths at half-time. We came out and started really well in the second half. We deservedly went ahead, and then we gave away a sloppy goal.

“But that’s what this group does. We respond. We keep fighting.”

Eventually Tommy Lonergan’s late winner secured victory and, in the process, earned the striker the Premier Division Golden Boot.

Amond was one of the first to celebrate.

While some might expect rivalry between two forwards battling for a goalscoring award, the captain insists there was never any tension.

“The lads were joking about it during the week,” he laughed. “But there were never any issues between the two of us. I’m delighted he’s won it.

“It shows how strong we’ve been as a team to have two lads up there competing for it.

“Tommy’s had a fantastic season. He’s a player who’s going to have an unbelievable career. Wherever he ends up, he’ll deserve every bit of success he gets.”

AN UNBREAKABLE BOND

The bond within the squad is impossible to ignore.

Ask Amond about himself, and he immediately redirects the conversation towards teammates.

Ask him about the final, and he talks about the group.

That unity is the biggest reason Waterford players believe they can upset the odds next weekend.

“People can write us off if they want,” he said. “Good. Let it be that way.

“We’re in really good form at the moment. We’ve got confidence in ourselves.

“It’s not arrogance. It’s confidence because we know when the going gets tough we’re going to run through a brick wall for each other.”

Perhaps the most telling comment came when he was asked about the season coming to an end.

Most players would be ready for a break after a long campaign.

Not Amond.

“We don’t want the season to finish,” he said. “It might sound silly but we don’t. We’re in a really good place.

“The players, the staff, everybody is pulling together. We’re all rolling behind the manager.

“I can’t wait for next week and I think everyone in the dressing room feels exactly the same.”

Then there are the supporters. Time and again throughout the interview, Amond returned to them.

The fans who kept turning up. The fans who endured the bad days. The fans who never stopped believing.

“The supporters deserve enormous credit,” he said.

“The last two years they backed us when they probably shouldn’t have backed us as much as they did.

“They dragged us through the play-off final last year. They’ve been unbelievable.

“There’ll be a sea of blue in the Aviva next weekend. Our supporters deserve everything.”

Then comes one final promise.

“We’ll leave nothing on the pitch for them.

“We’ll leave absolutely everything out there.”

And should Waterford complete the fairytale, there will be no greater image than their captain climbing the Aviva steps with the trophy in his hands.

“I’ll be the proudest person leading them out,” Amond said.

“But I’ll be even prouder if I get the chance to lift that trophy.”

Dreams can come true.