Coleraine captain Matthew Hutchinson insists the club are underdogs every time they play so this weekend will be no different when they take on Bready in the final of the Sam Jeffrey Shield at Beechgrove.

Hutchinson, who took over as skipper from big brother Stephen this year, won his first senior trophy, after eight years of trying, when he lifted the Eric Cooke (T20) Trophy this month and this weekend he is determined to make it a double, despite the long odds.

“Bready are the favourites based on their league position (top) but we are happy enough to be underdogs with no pressure. We also seemed to go into most games as underdogs because a lot of the teams in the North West don’t rate us as much as they should, in my opinion.

“But we have beaten Newbuildings and, last Sunday, Killyclooney and even against Bready it was only our inexperience at the start of the season that we threw that game away. But we usually have a good record against Bready at Coleraine so hopefully we can take it to Beechgrove.

A top eight finish and a place in next season’s Premiership is the main objective for  the Bannsiders this campaign but although they are currently exactly eighth, Donemana with a match in hand are breathing down the necks.

“We are disappointed to be in the position we are, I would prefer to be safe from ‘relegation’ but we have still to play Donemana and Fox Lodge so it’s a case of our fate being in our own hands,” adds Hutchinson who is the club’s leading wicket-taker this season.

“Gareth Burns, our senior bowler, is chasing me down, however, so I am starting to get worried,” he laughs.

“But we are all looking forward to the final. There will be less pressure than the league games where you have to win every time, so it’ll be nice to just go out and enjoy ourselves with no consequence of not winning.

"But, of course, we will be going all out to win our first 50-over trophy since we won the treble of League, Ulster Cup and T20 Cup in 2013.”