Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Kieran: Hand on Harte we are happy to just do a job
KIERAN MCGEARY insists Tyrone’s merry band of finishers “totally respect” the role boss Mickey Harte wants them to play.
Mcgeary and Lee Brennan are pressing hard for starting places and the clamour is growing louder after they helped sink Donegal with brilliant cameo displays on Sunday.
A lot of Tyrone fans would like the dynamic duo in the first 15, but the plan now seems to be to finish with a stronger team than the one that starts – which means stars like Brennan and Mcgeary might remain on the bench. If so, that’s fine by Mcgeary.
“You hear a mixture of things from people all the time and you filter it out,” insists the 2015 All-ireland U21-winning skipper.
“Whatever is best for this team, it is entirely up to Mickey (inset) and whatever he says we totally respect.
“Whether you don’t play, you play for two minutes or you play for 75, whatever is best for this team you do it.”
Brennan kicked 0-4 and could have had a goal while Mcgeary scored a point and had a massive influence in wresting the game out of Donegal’s hands in the second half.
Mcgeary isn’t too bothered whether they’re labelled as the supersubs or finishers.
He said: “At the end of the day if we had been beaten no one would be talking about the difference we made when we came on.
“There is no specific role that anyone has when you come on to the field, there is no label that you hold.
“When you come on to the field, you just come on and try your best and if it works out, it works out.
“There is a window of opportunity which presents itself in the second half and if that is the chance to pull away from another team you do your best.
“You see the Dubs doing it all the time.”
In the 2016 Ulster final win over Donegal, Mcgeary, Peter Harte and Sean Cavanagh hit three long-range wonder points in the last five minutes in a stunning finish at Clones.
Mcgeary hit another belter on Sunday in Ballybofey, but humbly played down his own impact.
“I suppose any time you get a point it’s always nice, I hit it with the inside of my foot and lucky enough it went over the bar, it could have gone anywhere.”