FAI CUP FINAL 2026 COUNTDOWN: ‘It’s time to go from bridesmaid to bride’ - Paschal Keane

Few people connected to Waterford FC have experienced the club's highs and lows quite like Paschal Keane.

Better known as Snackbox, former Blues striker, a member of the club's 2004 FAI Cup final backroom team and now preparing to serve as co-commentator for WLR's coverage of Sunday's FAI Cup final against Derry City, Keane believes this Waterford side has all the ingredients needed to end the club's 46-year wait for cup success.

Having watched Waterford's remarkable transformation at close quarters this season, Keane points to one key moment as the turning point in the campaign.

"It's been crazy. It's been up and down. We started off poorly in the first 16 matches and we didn’t have a win. Jon Daly was manager there, and then Graham Coughlan came in early May, and we haven't looked back since he came in. Fair and simple.

"Everyone is looking forward to the cup final on November 8. It's been a massive season for all concerned. It didn't start well, but we've really come into our own in the second half of the season under Graham."

Keane believes Coughlan's influence has extended far beyond tactics and team selection, with the manager instilling a winning mentality throughout the squad.

"In my own time, managers dictated a lot of players' mindset. Levels of fitness, both physical and mental fitness. In fairness to John Daly, I didn't know the man personally, but he just didn't seem to have that little bit extra to get it out of the players for whatever reason.

"Then we have Graham coming in, who's a totally different type of manager. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He's breathed confidence into players. His demands are right up there at top level and if players don't want to put in that extra graft, that extra bit of training or mentality, he'll put them on the bench or move them out.

"Managers dictate a lot of the way players think. Certain players need a kick in the backside and other players need a hug. Graham has obviously found the right balance and it's paid off."

Keane highlights the resurgence of players such as Benny Couto and Tommy Lonergan as evidence of the dramatic turnaround.

"Benny Couto from earlier in the season is a shadow of the player he is now. There were fans baying for his blood. Tommy Lonergan wasn't getting in and looked disinterested at times. Benny was a nervous wreck on the ball.

"But now look at them. Benny has been one of the best creators in the league and Tommy is up there among the goalscorers. The two of them have been immense in the second half of the season and a lot of that credit has to go to Graham Coughlan."

As a former striker himself, Keane says Waterford's attacking partnership of Padraig Amond and Lonergan gives the Blues a genuine chance of making history.

"Strikers take a lot of the glory but they also take a lot of flak when things don't go their way. Podge and Tommy have formed a formidable partnership. They've developed that telepathy you get with forwards where you know where the other fella is going to be.

"What Graham has installed is getting the ball into the box early. Every long throw, every free kick, every corner, it's delivered into dangerous areas. That's a striker's dream. There's no point having 75 per cent possession if nothing is coming into the box.

"When you've got goalscorers like Podge and Tommy, they'll thrive on that service and they've shown it throughout the second half of the season."

Having watched Waterford's 2004 final defeat to Longford Town from inside the camp, Keane feels this year's side arrives in a far stronger position.

"It is a massive opportunity. We look at the games against Derry this season and we've competed well in every one of them. There's no fear there.

"Graham doesn't have fear and he's passed that on to the players. Why should Waterford fear anybody? They've performed well all season, especially against Derry. It's 22 years since the last final and it's about time history was rewritten."

The memories of 1980 remain strong for Keane, who was just 13 when Waterford lifted the FAI Cup for the only time in the club's history.

"I was in Dalymount Park when we lifted the cup in 1980. It's time for new heroes. It's time for a new generation that supporters can look up to and celebrate.

"Please God we'll have a great occasion on Monday when that cup comes back across the bridge."

Keane also believes Sunday's occasion stretches far beyond the players and management team, with the entire football community in Waterford invested in the club's journey.

"It would mean everything. It's massive for the city and the football community. But you don't want that to become pressure either. Every game starts 0-0 and you have to believe you can win it.

"The manager can do so much during the week but once the players cross the white line it's down to them. My message would be simple: don't leave anything behind you. Run the extra yard, make the extra tackle, close someone down if you have to.

"If Derry score a wonder goal then so be it. That's football. But don't wake up on Monday morning asking yourself what more you could have done."

Keane admits fortune has not always favoured Waterford in cup competitions, recalling heartbreaking exits over the years, including the controversial 2004 final defeat.

"We've had our share of bad luck. In the 2004 final there were two balls on the pitch and the referee didn't see it before Longford scored. Other years we've had decisions go against us as well.

"But this season has felt different. The home draws helped. We got through difficult games. In the semi-final against Bohs we could have been three goals down at half-time but we stayed in it and found a way.

"I really feel it's Waterford's year. Other years I didn't have that feeling in my stomach. This year I do."

And as the Blues prepare for their biggest game in more than two decades, Keane hopes Sunday's final will finally bring an end to a story of near misses.

"We're always the bridesmaid and never the bride. It’s time for us to be the bride and finally get married!

"Hopefully Sunday is the day."