TYRONE CON NOT PLAY WITH ANY FEAR
AS a key member of the only team to beat Dublin in close to 18 months, Conor Mcmanus has some do’s and dont’s for Tyrone going into the All-ireland final.
Monaghan’s 2-12 to 0-17 win over the Dubs at Croke Park in March was the first time Jim Gavin’s side had tasted defeat since the League final loss to Kerry the previous April.
There wasn’t much riding on the game but sharpshooter Mcmanus said: “We didn’t treat it as a dead rubber, and I don’t feel Dublin did.
“You can’t play with any fear against Dublin. If you do that they’ll swarm all over you – they can beat you in five or 10 minutes.
“It was only a League game but Dublin haven’t lost too many in the last number of years.”
Mcmanus added: “Tyrone will be 100 per cent convinced they can win. Whether anyone else in the country believes that, that’s irrelevant to them. They’ll feel that in a one-off game they can beat Dublin in an All-ireland final.
“It’s probably up to Dublin, then; what they bring to the party. This year they don’t seem to be really going after teams as much as maybe they were.
“It seems to be more methodical than it had been in the past.
“But you get the feeling that they haven’t been firing on all cylinders yet. If they do catch fire they’ll be hard to beat.”
Mcmanus warns that Tyrone must get on the front foot and compete for kick-outs.
“You can’t afford to give Dublin kickouts for 70 minutes – they’ll just come at you, wave after wave,” said the 30-year-old. “They’ll keep the ball for two or three minutes, not take it into trouble and the next thing, they’re popping it over from 25 or 30 yards.
“If you give Dublin possession and they’re going to squeeze you for possession on your kickouts, they could have 70-80 per cent of possession and you don’t have a chance.
“They are just so comfortable in the way they are playing and in their system – it’s nearly that they know they’re going to get chances.
“You have to try and squeeze them as best you can. But there’s no point pressing up and them pinging one 60 yards over seven or eight men’s heads.
“So, it takes a lot of thinking as well. You’re switched on all the time, thinking where do you need to be.
“And they’re going to have to stop Dublin getting off to a quick start. If you’re playing catch-up with Dublin in Croke Park for 60 minutes, it’s a long, long day.”
Former All-ireland winning boss Jim Mcguinness’s belief is that the best way Tyrone can upset the Dubs is by putting 15 men behind the ball.
But Mcmanus insists there must be a balanced approach if Tyrone are to have a chance.
“There are two or three players that you have to focus on,” he said.
“Ciaran Kilkenny had the run of the field in the previous game against Tyrone and did a lot of harm.
“But then if you do too much of that, you end up forgetting to play the game yourself.
“So, there’s a balancing act between trying to stop Dublin and trying to win the game yourself.”
Following an executive meeting of Mayo GAA this evening the officers of the board were authorized to meet Stephen Rochford & his management team on their structures & plans for 2019. #mayogaa #gaa