Boulevard Blazers' Michael Parsons is braced for an intense Dudley Eve final tonight with emotions running high following the death of his former Dandy Town team-mate Machai Campbell.

Parsons played alongside Campbell at St. John's Field before re-signing for his boyhood club Blazers at the start of the season and will pay his respects at the talented 19-year-old's funeral tomorrow.

The versatile midfielder can more than relate to the sense of loss within the Hornets dressing room having experienced the death of his closest friend when Blazers talisman Shaki Crockwell was killed in the summer of 2007.

He watched Hornets pay tribute to their fallen defender by thrashing Devonshire Cougars on New Year's Day to reach tonight's showpiece at Somerset Cricket Club, and believes it was evident that Scott Morton's side were playing off their raw emotions.

"It's going to be a very emotional match for both teams considering what happened to Machai Campbell," said Parsons, who returns to Boulevard's squad after recovering from a knee injury that prevented him from playing in their previous Dudley Eve matches.

"I played alongside Machai and went to Los Angeles with him on a Hornets tour back in 2005. I'm still hurting by Machai's loss and the Blazers players know what Hornets are going through having lost our captain Shaki Crockwell at the start of the last campaign.

"Obviously those feelings are still going to be very fresh for Dandy Town's players and I thought they were playing off their emotions in their win over Cougars. We expect them to come straight at us from the first whistle and we will have to be sponge-like and absorb their pressure."

Some pre-match banter was exchanged with Hornets' Lashun Dill when the former team-mates met up at Crockwell's son's christening at the weekend and Parsons has vowed to ram the leggy winger's good-natured jibes firmly down his throat.

"It was Santiago Crockwell's birthday at the weekend and I'm his godfather," said Parsons.

"There were quite a footballers present with the likes of Lashun and Darius Cox so it didn't take long for the conversation to turn to the Dudley Eve final.

"Of course me and Lashun exchanged a few jokes about the game and I'm determined to have the final say at the final whistle."

Eight goals have been plundered in the two meetings between the finalists in the league season and Parsons is braced for another goal-laden encounter.

"We've beaten them 2-0 and they've beaten us 4-2 and I don't think there's much between us. It will come down to who wants it the most and I told our players in training at the weekend that success is not calculated but has to be earned.

"Dandy Town will bring their A-game and have a good go at us but I don't think any team on the Island can play quite like Boulevard. We also have players who can cause them damage."

Parsons raised a few eyebrows when he tipped Blazers for title glory in an interview with this newspaper on the eve of the Premier Division season and his words have proven prophetic with Andrew Bascome's team second in the table.

And regardless of the final's outcome he has warned his team-mates not to waver on their mission to clinch their first Premier Division title since 1992.

"I remember the glory days for Blazers," recalls Parsons.

"I vividly remember us beating PHC 2-0 in an FA Cup final at the National Sports Centre in 1991. David Bascome scored the first and then Andrew Bascome struck a fantastic volley. The game wasn't even over and the Blazers fans surged onto the pitch to celebrate. It was a great day, we marched the trophy from the NSC back to Victor Scott for a huge party.

"It's been too long since Boulevard experienced winning a trophy but I think this team can bring the good times back.

"It's certainly going to be a interesting game against Hornets. We're two good teams with two good coaches and have both experienced losing a team-mate in recent times."