I pay no attention to former players’ cheap shots: Harte
TYRONE manager Mickey Harte has dismissed the various criticisms he has shipped from some of his former players this season as ‘cheap shots’.
The Red Hands’ defeat to Monaghan in the first round of the Ulster Championship on May 20 led to several ex-Tyrone players questioning Harte’s tactical approach and leadership style.
It feels like a long time ago now, considering they are getting ready for the All-Ireland final against Dublin on September 2.
Three-time All-Ireland winner Owen Mulligan had his say after the Monaghan defeat, claiming that Colm Cavanagh, Lee Brennan and Tiernan McCann all carried knocks into the game.
Mulligan contended: “None of them made an impact and they were taken off early. When you’re playing a quality side at this intensity you can’t expect to carry anyone with an injury. Surely Harte knows this?”
Sean Cavanagh has used even more incendiary language this season in his media appearances, suggesting at one stage in May: “Mickey’s the man, and that’s just the style of leadership he has. It’s quite an autocratic style at times but that’s just where he’s at.”
Now, without referring to specific examples, Harte has shrugged off the criticism.
He said: “It’s not a big issue. It’s only a big issue if you allow it to be. Everybody has their opinion and sometimes that opinion is solicited from them to make a headline — and I understand that.
“Let that be as it may. I learned a long time ago that we shouldn’t determine how well we ourselves feel by what somebody else says. That’s really handing away the power of your well-being to somebody else.
“So let people make their comments, and if they have substance to back it up then I’ll appreciate it. And if they haven’t, I’ll recognise it for what it is — a cheap shot.”
Other Tyrone figures have questioned the criticisms proffered by Cavanagh, who has gone on to become a prominent RTÉ analyst. Tyrone selector Gavin Devlin went as far as to say: “If I had been captain, I have no doubt that I could have met Mickey and said, ‘Mickey, I think this is what we should do’, or, ‘What about trying this?’
“I wouldn’t sit and keep my mouth shut. I’ve had a number of conversations with Sean and he never mentioned anything about styles of play or what we should and shouldn’t do. If he thought something wasn’t right, as captain, why didn’t he come and have a conversation with us rather than saying it in an RTÉ studio?”
Another former captain, Peter Canavan, wrote in his newspaper column: “For me, it was a pity Sean wasn’t more vocal when he was inside the camp because it’s much easier to affect change from within.”
After victory over Monaghan in the semi-final, Harte talked about the great hunger within the county for an All-Ireland final and paid tribute to their support, while also warning his detractors that they have no effect on him.
He said: “There’s lots of very good people who support Gaelic games in our county. They’re there come hell or high water, and they’re the people who drive you on, the people who are truly there and we know them.
“They’re there early before games, and they’re the last people leaving.
“And they’re the people who drive you on, not the snipers who come at you from a distance. That’s part and parcel of the modern world that we live in.
“The good thing about it is that I don’t have any truck with social media at all. So there’s an awful lot of people, I’m sorry to tell them, they’ll be very disappointed, the stuff they say about me that’s not nice, I don’t even read it, I don’t know it, there’s no value in it.”
Harte also revealed that Conor Meyler, who was taken off in the game against Donegal with bruising on the bone around the knee, should win his race for fitness for the All-Ireland final.
The only other injury in the Tyrone camp is Cathal McCarron, who recently underwent an operation to repair his cruciate ligament.
Having Omagh man Meyler back would be a significant boost for Harte, who said: “Conor obviously had quite a knock and he’s working very hard to overcome that.
“The signs are positive that he will be available for some part of this final.”