O'Hagan, who works as Head of Leisure and Community Development with Derry City and Strabane District Council, believes the key to the club’s recent success is simple: hunger, leadership and an unwavering desire to improve.

“It has been really enjoyable,” said O’Hagan. “It makes life easy when you inherit a group with a strong core of players who are self-starters and mad for the road.

“They are highly coachable, hugely driven and there hasn’t been an ounce of complacency despite everything they have achieved.”

With two county titles already secured and a fifth consecutive final appearance looming, O’Hagan says the appetite within the squad remains as strong as ever.

“You’d think they were chasing their first championship. Success hasn’t diluted their hunger one bit. The focus is on improving as individuals and as a team rather than looking at what anyone else is doing.”

He credits the standards established by previous management teams, including Declan Bonner and Paul Brennan, but says the players themselves drive the culture.

“The whole thing has always been very player-led. They challenge each other every night and are constantly trying to raise standards.”

O’Hagan believes one of the group’s greatest strengths is the quality of character throughout the dressing room.

“In most teams you might have four or five leaders. With this group, just about everyone falls into that category.

“That doesn’t mean there are never disagreements, but everything is done with the intention of getting the best out of each other. By the end of training it’s settled and everyone moves on.”

The manager also dismisses suggestions that Erne Gaels’ experienced core could be disadvantaged against Derrygonnelly’s emerging younger stars.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “Modern conditioning has changed everything. Age is just a number if players look after themselves properly.

“Brian Mullin remains one of the fittest men in the squad, while players like Ryan Lyons, Jack McCann and Tommy McCaffrey are in fantastic condition. Whether you’re 21 or 31, it doesn’t really matter.”

Despite reaching another county final, O’Hagan insists there is still considerable room for improvement.

Erne Gaels defeated Ederney in the semi-final, scoring 25 points in the process, but conceding three goals left management and players frustrated.

“We weren’t overly happy with our performance,” he admitted. “Semi-finals are for winning, but we always judge ourselves on standards and there were aspects of our game that weren’t good enough.

“We were pleased to score 25 times against a good defensive side, but all three goals we conceded came from our own mistakes.”

The first followed a turnover when Erne Gaels were in control, the second came from another misplaced possession, while the third originated from a kick-out error.

“We were very disappointed. We hadn’t conceded a goal in the championship up to that point and we know we can’t afford to give teams opportunities like that.

“If we defend like that against Derrygonnelly, we can forget about retaining the title.”

The Harps, he says, possess threats across the field.

“Nothing really changes with Derrygonnelly. They have quality everywhere.

“The McGullions, Rory Smyth and the McGoverns are all capable of hurting teams. They are athletic, direct and if they get momentum, they can be extremely dangerous.”

While Erne Gaels enjoyed a comfortable victory over the Harps earlier in the season, O’Hagan insists the result means very little ahead of the championship decider.

“For a spell that day Derrygonnelly missed a number of chances and the game could easily have been level.

“It wasn’t knockout football and the stakes were different. In the big championship matches between these teams there has rarely been much between them.”

Rather than talk about a potential three-in-a-row, O’Hagan says the squad has remained firmly focused on one game at a time.

“There hasn’t been a single mention of three-in-a-row in the dressing room.

“We focused on each championship game as it came along and now all our attention is on winning one game of football.

“There will be plenty of outside noise about three-in-a-row, but that’s for everyone else to talk about. We’re a very grounded group and all that matters is Sunday.”

For O’Hagan, the formula remains straightforward: maintain standards, trust the process and match the hunger that has carried Erne Gaels to the brink of another county title.