By Cian O'Connell

During Crossmaglen Rangers' decorated footballing story, James Morgan has been involved in 10 Armagh SFC title victories.

On Sunday, though, Morgan was restricted to a watching brief due to injury as Cross defeated Clan na Gael.

Not being available for selection is difficult, but Morgan has a sense of perspective about it all. "That’s the 10th title I have now, three of the campaigns I wasn’t involved, I was injured," he explains.

"It is difficult watching them, but one thing I understand now that I maybe didn’t when I was younger is that the players on the pitch are doing it for a lot more than themselves.

"Whether I’m in the dugout or the crowd, I still feel part of it because it’s your club or your community."

Currently recuperating from a hip operation, Morgan is hopeful about making a return to competitive action in January.

Missing matches can be tricky to deal with, especially important fixtures such as county finals. "It’s something I’ve been frustrated with before but it’s the third campaign I have missed out on," he says.

"I still really enjoyed being in the Athletic Grounds and watching the boys lift the cup. Jamie (Clake) spoke very passionately on Sunday night and it’s not quite playing, but I really enjoyed the weekend’s success.

"I suppose when you get to my age you’re starting to think of what you’re going to do outside football and you can’t always look back.

"Fortunately, I believe I will return to football so I’m looking at that thinking ‘Brilliant, the club is developing, look at the young players coming through’.

"If we push on, everyone sticks together and I can be back into that team next year, it will be great. Whereas if the boys weren’t carrying on or as committed you wouldn’t be as excited or as motivated to rehab your injuries.

"You can look at the success and think ‘I need to get myself right here and I want to be a part of it’. I see it more as a motivating factor than a frustration of missing out because I have a bit of success with the club already"."

Silverware has been delivered throughout the years by Cross. Forty seven Armagh Senior Championships, 11 Ulster crowns, and six All-Ireland confirms Cross enduring class.

"People in Cross have been spoilt I suppose, they’re used to watching Oisín McConville and John McEntee around the place now they’re looking at myself and Chris Crowley," he laughs.

"We still have a lot of talent and quality out there and one of the challenges of maintaining the success from previous generations is also to play the positive style of football that Cross have become accustomed to, that our fans, friends and family want to see. Getting a win while still sticking to your football philosophy."

The club remains immensely proud of the identity that has been forged. "Absolutely," Morgan replies. "But you can’t get too carried away with that either, you have to understand that some things need to change as the game itself develops. Maybe that’s one thing that we fell down in the last couple of years in Ulster.

"We had a very good campaign last year with Stephen (Kernan), we did a lot of things right, and I think we just need to tweak a few things and that will help us progress in Ulster."

Sunday's Tyrone SFC Final will be monitored with interest. The victors face Cross in what promises to be another intriguing provincial encounter.