Write off wily & dangerous Red Hands at your peril

AS Jimmy Mcguinness rightly said, the Ulster championship this year will be ‘fascinating’.

Monaghan and Donegal scored 4-40 between them last week and turned in significant, powerful second half performances. The Farneymen displayed an excellent team spirit and right now they boast the strongest panel they’ve ever possessed. Donegal took to the field with seven debutants and looked to have a superb blend of experience and pacy youthful players. But what fascinates me more is to see what Tyrone will be like as they set out on their journey against Derry at Celtic Park tomorrow. It’s intriguing for a number of reasons. Tyrone are a team that have never been too far from anyone’s lips when it comes to Championship contenders, so it’s hard to get your head around the fact last year’s Ulster title win was their first in six attempts. There’s added spice in the Tyrone county board only giving Mickey Harte a year extension, which raised many an eyebrow – maybe not within the county but it generated a huge amount of debate from the outside. They arrive at the Ulster Championship under the radar and with not a huge amount expected from their supporters. That is due to the team’s regression into the second tier of contenders, a strange development after the genuine optimism that was there last year. But let me tell you, write off any Tyrone side at your peril. When people are knocking them, maybe disrespecting them and not giving them a chance, that’s when they’re at their most dangerous. Where Harte and Tyrone people are different is they don’t give a damn what’s said about them. They’re a different breed and I’ve always admired how they just suck up criticism and get on with business of playing football. Derry should be ready like never before but Thomas Mallon’s shock walk-out this week would have sent tremors through the panel. It shouldn’t happen in the week of a big match and it heaps a lot of pressure on their 18-year-old goalkeeper Ben Mckinless but what a chance for the young lad. They have to give Damian Barton 70 minutes of total effort but Tyrone beat them four times last year and, having seen them in action in Navan this year, I’d seriously question their ability to tactically out-fox what Harte and Tyrone bring to Celtic Park. They were shocking that day against Meath. Cathal Mccarron and Justin Mcmahon are injured for Tyrone while old servant Joe Mcmahon has called it a day. That deprives them of some strength and experience but I like the look of the team that will play. The main concern for Harte is he has a wasteful forward unit – a real disappointment in a poor league campaign. It seems like from midfield up Tyrone have lost a huge amount of confidence. In the first half of last year’s league campaign, Ronan O’neill was setting himself up as a Player of the Year contender. That form has deserted him. I’m glad to see Mark Bradley in the team. He’s a real star in the making and an early score could give him the platform to light up Celtic Park. Kieran Mcgeary and Conor Meyler are two good young players but the one real stand-out performer has been Niall Sludden. Where Tyrone have really changed tack is in playing Mattie Donnelly up front and, in finishing sixth in Division 1, surely that experiment cannot continue. Midfield is Donnelly’s position and the offensive conundrum that left Tyrone hamstrung in the spring is something that Derry should look to exploit. As good as Sean Cavanagh is, it’s expecting a lot of him to play 70 minutes on a hot day – send him on with 20 minutes to go instead, when his experience and guile can be employed to devastating effect. Most say Ulster is between Monaghan and Donegal – I’ve tipped the latter – but the way Tyrone players think under Harte, the fact there’s a decent balance to the team as a whole and probably less pressure than is usual makes them a dangerous prospect.