'We are as prepared as we can be' says Rangers boss Kerr

“I know we will be favourites for it because we have been there before, and we play in a good league, but it’s a final,” he said.

“If we can play to the levels we are capable of, and we can bring the intensity and quality we know we can, Cleary Celtic will need to be on form to beat us. I’m not saying they won’t, or they can’t. Any team that goes 40 games and only loses one obviously has a winning mentality and knows what it takes to win. They score a lot of goals, and the strikers have 69 between the two of them this year. It just takes one chance to score a goal and they have been consistently doing it, so they have our full respect going into the game.”

Kerr has been doing his homework on the Newry-based team, but he has urged his players to focus mainly on their own strengths.

The squad played a training game at the Dungannon venue during the week to familiarise themselves with the pitch and the surroundings, and he feels they are in good shape for the showpiece final.

“The work is put in and we feel we are as prepared as we can be,” he said.

“We have had them watched three times over the past week or so and we know plenty about them. I don’t want to overload the boys with information on them because we have to focus on ourselves.

"Obviously, they have strengths and threats that we are going to be looking to nullify, but we don’t want to forget about our own strengths. I keep saying to the lads to focus on themselves, and if everybody puts in an 8 out of 10 performance then collectively as a team we won’t be far away. That includes the subs as well. They are expected to have a massive impact because if they are coming onto the pitch they are coming on to make a difference.”

Both sides boast an impressive recent run of results. Cleary Celtic have only lost one game all season, and Rangers remain undefeated over 90 minutes since December.

Kerr admits his side’s performances this year have left his squad high on confidence going into the final.

“Winning breeds confidence but I don’t want that winning mentality to lead to complacency, and it really hasn’t,” he said.

“There is a big difference between confidence and cockiness, and we are certainly not that. We are in good form and we have won plenty of the games since the turn of the year, so we are going into it in good spirits and that is good preparation.”

Rangers have a rich recent tradition in the IFA Junior Cup.

Since defeating Hill Street in the 2016/17 final they will have played a part in five of the last seven finals and will be looking to add win number four on Friday.

Kerr believes a win for his side would have huge significance for the whole club from top to bottom.

“The Junior Cup is the pinnacle of Junior football and I think it would be absolutely massive for us right now,” he admitted.

“It is not just the senior team. We have quite a young second and third team and they are going to see what a big game it is. They want to be pushing on and striving to get into the first-team squad, but under that we also have a good U19 team going to the Foyle Cup, and further down we have a youth setup that is really flourishing at the minute.

"We have over 200 plus kids and the majority of them will be there. For them as well it will be a massive occasion.

"It might be the first time they have got a so-called big game, and it is their club in it. They are going to see the senior team wearing the same kit that they wear in their wee matches, so it's not just about the senior side of it. 

"For the whole youth it's fantastic and it shows the strength in depth of our club. That it's five finals in seven years of the Junior Cup, and that is a phenomenal record to get into so many. It is three or four years since our last one and in that time there have been a lot of changes in the club. I am delighted for everybody that it is our club in the final, not just the senior team.”

Rangers’ participation in the final was thrown into doubt following an appeal after their semi-final victory.

The subsequent legal proceedings meant that final was unable to be played at the original venue, the National Stadium at Windsor Park, but Kerr reckons the occasion will still be a memorable one for his players as they take the pitch in front of what is expected to be a large local following at Dungannon.

“I am sure that a lot of boys who are in the Junior Cup final for the first time would have liked to get to Windsor,” he conceded.

“You are playing in a big stadium and the pitch is fantastic and you have great changing room facilities, but ultimately the atmosphere is completely lost at Windsor. I always go back to the Hill Street game.

Someone said there was 1,500 at it, and that is a big crowd for a junior football game, but you could hear it echoing around because it was more or less an empty stadium.

"The atmosphere that will be generated in Dungannon is going to be unbelievable because it is a small tight ground. I think that atmosphere will be a lot better, and that is something that will stick with the boys forever. I would have loved for the boys who have never been to have been able to play there but it is what it is and it is not something that has been spoken about. I haven’t heard one person saying they wished it was at Windsor.”

Kerr is boosted by an injury-free squad as he prepares to name his 16-man squad for the big occasion.

“Everyone is fit and mad to get into the squad but unfortunately it is only five subs, which is not ideal because I am going to have to leave so many lads out,” he admitted.

“I suppose when you get to this stage of competitions, and you have a big squad, that happens. You can’t pick everybody.

"The boys will be picked on merit, on quality, and who is the best prepared to play in a final, or come off the bench in a final and maybe make the difference in us bringing that trophy up the road.

"There is no sentiment in these decisions. It is solely based on football.”