Down have been ‘the nearly men’ over the last few editions of the SuperCupNI, falling on the Thursday or Friday of the competition, and Bailie, who has been part of the historic tournament for over 15 years, is hoping this squad can end this barren run.
“I think in terms of strength, the squad of 18 I think will be as strong as any other year we’ve had, which is a good sign,” he said.
“Obviously when you’re looking for cover for injuries and tiredness, you could probably throw the argument at us that we recently, or we have done reasonably well Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
“But not so well Thursday and Friday. So the big question mark is have we utilized our squad well enough?
“Has our squad been good enough? This year I think our squad is stronger one to 18 than it has been in previous years.
“So, we might be able to rotate a bit better this year, which will hopefully give us a better chance on Thursday and Friday.”
The 49-year-old has also been an advocate for county teams not being drawn against fellow counties and this year he got his wish with Down being drawn in a group with West Cork, Barcelona Dubai and Toluca from Mexico.
Bailie knows the three sides they face will all bring different qualities to the table.
He said: “Look, we don’t know how good of a draw it is.
“It’s good that the kids get the sample of playing against foreign teams, and I think that’s really, really important because at the end of the day, it’s all about the kids.
“We all go to SuperCupNI with an intention to win it but it doesn’t normally pan out that way.
“It’s all about the life experiences that the kids get from it.
“We play West Cork on the Monday, Barcelona Academy on the Tuesday and Toluca on the Wednesday so three very different challenges.
“I was fortunate enough to be in Dubai 18 months ago, so I was able to sample what these academies in Dubai are like, and people will be pleasantly surprised that the quality’s not bad.
“West Cork will be similar to ourselves, and the Mexicans in years gone by are either hit or miss.
Bailie and his coaching team had to whittle down their squad to 18 from 130 players, who trialled for the team this year and he is clear that they want to compete once again this year.
“We always go with the intention to win,” he said.
“We’re always wanting to try and finish as high as we physically can.
“We try and preach to the kids the importance of the Monday, Tuesday and the Wednesday game because you want to be playing against the better teams on Thursday and Friday.
“Since we got to the final a few years ago we’ve been fortunate enough to finish in the globe in each of those years since we’ve been in the final of the SuperCupNI proper.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t really made any dent in that globe.
“I think we maybe lost the final of it, but all the other years we’ve lost the semi-final.
“Losing the semi-final is difficult because it leaves the Friday very downbeat.”
Despite his passion to make a statement in the tournament this year, Bailie knows full well from his history with the cup competition, how important the week is for the young players, in terms of making memories for life.
“It’s massive,” he said.
“The kids don’t realise now how big it is and how big of an influence it will be on their lives.
“The number of football people that have played in SuperCupNI and their experiences at the SuperCupNI is phenomenal.
“I can remember like yesterday, the days I played in the SuperCupNI and it’s already changed since then.
“It’s an opportunity for the kids to play and lead the life of professional footballer for that week.
“Not just that, they are also living with their mates, they’re staying with their mates, they’re eating with their mates.
“It all boils down to having a really, really good week and good experiences.
“Yes, we are all there to try and win football matches, and we all want to win football matches, but in 20 years’ time, most people relate to things that happened in the hotel or things that happened away from the football pitch.”