Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Job’s Crystal clear for Kev second time
SEVENTEEN years on from his first shot at senior county management, new Tyrone boss Kevin Mccrystal says he is thrilled to get the chance to manage the Red Hands once again.
Still only 40 years old, Mccrystal (below) has stepped into the breach following Gerry Moane’s tenure, but an in-depth knowledge of underage players in the county has armed the Charraig Mhór club man for another crack at the role.
Currently managing a senior county squad of a staggering 71 players, the scale of the job clearly doesn’t unnerve Mccrystal.
“Listen, we started off with 116 girls when we came in,” said Mccrystal, who has spent the last three years in charge of the Tyrone underage academy. “We have 71 girls now in the senior squad at the minute.
“I can’t get any of them to miss a gym session. I can’t get any of them to not do their programme that has been designed by the S&C man,
Mattie Brady. They are all eager to give this a go and once we get back on the field, they will be even more eager.”
The player development strategy is very clear in the county - invite every interested player in for a trial, provide them with elite coaching and give them all fair game time. How that transfers to the senior team under Mccrystal will be very interesting in the seasons to come, but it’s not as if he was starting from scratch either.
Under Moane, Tyrone won the 2018 TG4 All-ireland Intermediate title, and have the benefit of two seasons as a senior team behind them. The 2020 Championship was a big disappointment for the county, and their 12-point loss to Armagh was followed by a 25-point trimming by Mayo.
“There has been hurt but they didn’t become a bad team overnight just because they were beaten,” said Mccrystal. “They were in real good shape going into the National League with Gerry (Moane) and Barry (Grimes) and they were going well. Covid meant no football and that set them back, but I think the girls have learned that they didn’t do their own work in the background. Football came back fairly quickly and they weren’t ready for it.
“It’s a big jump from intermediate to senior but now they have to work on that. Knowing that heartbreak is important. We are just really looking forward to getting back to the field.”