One year after his appointment as Shelbourne manager, Damien Duff regards an appearance in Sunday's Extra.ie FAI Cup final against Derry City as a career highlight.
Shels brought the curtain down on their return to the top flight on Sunday with a disappointing 4-0 defeat to St Patrick's Athletic at Richmond Park that saw the club finish 15 points above the relegation zone in seventh position.
The focus now firmly turns to the Aviva Stadium this weekend, where Derry stand in the way of a first FAI Cup title in 22 years.
With anticipation growing around Tolka Park, Duff, who won League Cups with Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea and was part of a Fulham side that lost a Europa League final in 2010, welcomes the build-up to the big occasion.
"When you don't have nerves, or butterflies in your belly, it’s time to jack it in," he told RTÉ Sport. "I’ll absolutely be nervous, probably more as the day goes on Sunday, but it’s the only way I like it.
"It’s what I missed, that focus. The nerves. That’s why I got back involved in the game."
Despite the decorated international's big-match experience, he insisted: "It'll be the absolute pinnacle of my sporting life because it's so out of the comfort zone, you could say, being a manager.
"All I never knew was football, so to lead out the guys on Sunday, there'll be no prouder guy in Ireland.
"It's an absolute spectacle of the League of Ireland. The league is finished, it's played a week later at the national stadium, near-on full, it doesn't get any better than that."
Duff says that for those involved against Derry, there is only so much he and his coaching team can do for the players.
"The respect they have shown me – a young, new manager – I couldn’t ask any more of them," he said.
"I’ll coach them, give them detail, but at three o’clock Sunday it’s over to them to make a name for themselves."
Derry boat an abundance of talent all over the park, but it's the threat posed by Patrick McEleney and Michael Duffy that the 43-year-old is particularly wary of, while also praising the abilities of those at his disposal.
"They've got amazing quality," he said. "They've got superstars that have been in the league for 10 years, being the best players consistently.
"McEleney, Duffy, we know we've got to stop them.
"At the same time, there's always a new generation, the next star to come and we've got some young boys in our squad and in our team that are ready to make a name for themselves."
Matty Smith's loanee status precludes him from facing his parent club in the Cup final, with Duff admitting: "I'm gutted for him, absolutely, because he's a great guy. Gutted for the team and the squad because he's been a big part of our form.
"At the same time, the number one thing we've been brilliant at all season is adapting. Adapting to anything that has been thrown at us, whether that be injuries, form, anything."
Shane Farrell faces a fitness race to make the showdown with Derry. The club's longest serving player at just the age of 22, Duff intends to wait until as late as possible to arrive at a decision on his participation.
"He still hasn't trained with the team back on the pitch," the Shels manager revealed.
"He pulled up in training last Wednesday. The scan wasn't overly positive, but I'll give him until the last minute because he's a special player, he represents the club, and we want him in the team."
Watch the FAI Cup final, Derry City v Shelbourne, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Sunday from 2.15pm with live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 and follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app
