Clare ace Shane O'Donnell knows that time is running out before he becomes just another stress-afflicted Banner supporter – and he desperately wants the silverware needed to make that transition all the less painful.
The big 30th birthday will be approaching when next season’s championship heads towards the business end, and O’Donnell would gladly delay any celebrations if it meant that he could add to a medal collection that has proven somewhat barren given what happened in his breakout year.
That was back in 2013. His Clare senior debut came in the low-key surroundings of a substitute appearance in January's Waterford Crystal Cup victory over University of Limerick, but by the close of the campaign he had a Celtic Cross, an All-Ireland final replay player of the match award and an All-Ireland Under-21 winning medal to his name.
Since then? Another U21 title the following year and an Allianz League in 2016. A few Munster Leagues for the county too. No hands back on the Liam MacCarthy, no end to Clare’s now 25-year wait for a provincial title.
Time is still on their side though and the way they pushed Limerick and Kilkenny in last year's championship suggests that their knocking on the door is being heard further down the hall.
"I think it's right in saying we're building a very nice trajectory," said O’Donnell, who was named the Gaelic Writers' Association Hurling Personality of the Year, in association with EirGrid.
"We've kind of mentioned a few times now about that senior group, but there's also a brilliant group, another group of players in that kind of younger [age] around 20 to 22.
"And the two lads for Young Player of the Year [Adam Hogan and Mark Rodgers], they are a great example, but there's a number of others that are in that kind of group that are vying for getting onto the pitch.
"I think maybe that's what has maybe been missing...just having a couple of really good young players who are pushing lads on the team to fight for their positions.
"We certainly had that the last couple of years and I think we're the same again coming next year. So that does really put pressure on the players that are on the pitch to keep their jerseys, really puts pressure on everybody to step up their game basically and I think that's what's made the difference over the last couple of years.
"I do think the trajectory is still one step more next year and obviously, what we'll be aiming for is bringing in silverware, whether it be a Munster final or an All-Ireland final.
"Like it is about getting silverware, obviously - the elephant in the room is that Limerick are going for something that's never been done before. They're going to be more motivated than any team could possibly be. So it's obviously having to compete against that, but we’re looking forward to the challenge."
O’Donnell has had periods away from the Clare team through injury, studying at the prestigious Harvard University in America and, also, as a result of the well-documented concussions suffered on the pitch. Those absences have given him a taste of life on the other side of wire, and it’s not something he was particularly keen on.
"My girlfriend [Niamh] and I would be very interested in working abroad and that kind of thing and I really think that when I retire I'll have to tie it in with working abroad that year because I found it very difficult towards the end of the year that I took out because of the concussion, going watching games.
"I found it extremely difficult. I did not realise, I did not appreciate the plight of the supporters for Clare until I actually stood in the crowd and watched a couple of our games and my God, it was just unbelievably stressful.
"So I don't know if I'll be able to do that the first year when I retire properly, but [we] might have to tie it in with kind of going abroad or something."
That’s for the future though and very soon the attention will turn totally towards Clare’s 2024 journey.
It seems incredible to think that when the Éire Óg man left the Croke Park crowd spellbound with that 2013 replay win over Cork that a decade later he would only have graced the hallowed turf a total of four times.
O'Donnell provided a reminder of what we were missing with Clare’s goal in last season’s thrilling semi-final loss to Kilkenny – his first three-pointer on Jones Road since the third leg of his hat-trick against the Rebels under the lights back in '13.
That goal came with O’Donnell picking up the ball close to goal, turning and firing high to the net – but Brian Lohan has been keen to use him quite often as a half-forward over the last couple of seasons.
For the player himself, he sees too reasons now why he can be looked upon as a much more rounded attacker, a more versatile option.
"I've got a lot more confident in my shooting, which was kind of something that I only realised when looking back on it, [it] held me back a lot. I really never decided to take shots on. I was always looking to take someone on or to pass the ball and I think that limited my play a lot.
"But when one or two of them start to drift away, then I think the entire group will reconsider whether they're going to be involved."
"The other side of it is that in the last few years I've put on quite a lot of weight and I found that that's made a huge difference actually on the pitch. It just feels like I'm able to get past people or get out in front of people or just get through, basically get through people when needed in a way that I was never able to before.
"So I think a combination of just the confidence to actually take shots on as well as that like added weight has really kind of facilitated that change."
All that will be moulded with whatever else the Banner dressing room can provide for a full assault on championship silverware in 2024. It's imperative; the class of 2013 is nearing graduation time.
"It's kind of at a stage now where I think we're all staying with this each year, we're all staying with it," O’Donnell said. "But when one or two of them start to drift away, then I think the entire group will reconsider whether they're going to be involved."
Watch the Ulster Club Football Championship quarter-final, Trillick v Crossmaglen, on Saturday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
