I KENN HANDLE MYSELF

Star Conor disagrees with Harte’s ’manhandling’ claims

Mckenna at his home in Eglish, Tyrone with Footballer of Month award for October yesterday

CONOR MCKENNA has distanced himself from Tyrone boss Mickey Harte’s claim that he was manhandled against Donegal.

Mckenna performed terrifically for his county on his return from Australia after quitting AFL club Essendon in September, to the extent that he was yesterday named as the P wc Footballer of f th the e Month for October, but ut he wasn’t quite as s prominent in last

S u n d a y ’s U l s t e r quarter-final.

When it was put to Harte after the two- point defeat, which saw aw Tyrone knocked out of the Championship, that Mckenna had been “well-marshalled”, he replied: “If you were watching what was happening in the first half there, I don’t think that was marshalling.

“I think that was manhandling and I don’t think he got the correct protection he deserved from the officials. So, marshal, yeah, you can call it that. I would call it worse than that.”

But Mckenna, speaking as he picked up his award, didn’t feel that there was anything untoward about Donegal’s approach.

He said: “Nah, not really. You can get away a bit more probably out the field, a bit further, whereas out around the middle of the field you probably get a bit more attention but listen, I’d do the exact same to someone else. That’s the way Gaelic is.

Last S u n d a y ’s reverse completed Harte’s 18th season in charge of Tyrone as well as his latest three-year term, which leaves him in limbo, for now at

least.

H Harte (left) was nonc committal about his f future when asked about it last Sunday and Mckenna was r reluctant to endorse h his carrying on as ma manager in 2021 and beyond given that he’s so new to the set-up himself.

“It’s a bit different for me, I’ve only been there for probably three months, so it’s hard for me to say.

“I had a strange year, nothing was probably normal ( for me) compared to what them boys have been through.

“It’s probably more a decision for the coaches and the players who have been there for the last five or six years, they know what’s going on and they know what’s better for the team so if they think Mickey is the man to stay on then that’s fine by me.”