Mickey Harte addresses the Tyrone players before the throw-in against Dublin.
By Michael Devlin
Tyrone manager Mickey Harte said his players went through six days of “soul-searching” following their humbling 19-point defeat to Galway last weekend.
Speaking in the aftermath of Saturday evening’s gritty three-point victory over Dublin in a drenched Healy Park, that contemplation and reflection on the poor display in Tuam against the Tribesmen was badly needed before they could take to the field again to take on the All-Ireland champions.
“I’ve been managing Tyrone teams for 30 years now, since 1991, and I never suffered a defeat like that at any level. Of course I was stung, and they were stung. I shared that sting with them tonight before they came here.
“We were honest with each other, we looked into each other’s soul and we said we are better than that. We just addressed what happened, that it was one of those days where, yes, things went against us, but we didn’t give it the energy that the match deserved.
“So we felt this was a week to really build that energy. We really wanted a performance today, the result was a real bonus.”
Harte was adamant though that the Galway result was not a true indication of where his side are at the moment, and was confident his players could revive themselves to find a performance to match the Dubs.
“I said it last week to the players that I didn’t believe that the result reflected the work that they put in from November on, and they deserved better than that, and there’s no denying it, we have to live with that. But again, you see, within six days, what the players are capable of doing.
“It’s only two league points, it doesn’t win anything for us, it takes us a step nearer to safety, that’s the best we can say about it right now.
“I think that’s a very good step, because everybody was on their knees after that game in Tuam, and it is difficult to lift yourself from that low level to get up to the heights it was going to take to beat Dublin.
“You can’t be a bad team in one game, you just can’t. It doesn’t make sense. I know these players are good and they want to deliver the best of themselves, and they’re always chasing the top table.
“A team that can do that over a number of years and play in three All-Ireland semi-finals in a row, they aren’t a team that aren’t good. They’re a very good team."
The Tyrone bench, including injured players Cathal McShane and Mattie Donnelly, celebrate after Saturday's win over Dublin.
The nasty ankle injury picked up by attacking star Cathal McShane compounded the Tyrone misery out west last weekend.
The All-Star full forward was making his first start since pledging his future to the Tyrone cause a few weeks ago, having turned down an offer to play professional Australian Rules football with AFL side Adelaide Crows.
However, after undergoing scans last week, the extent of McShane’s injury isn’t thought to be as severe as first anticipated. It is understood he has suffered dislocation and damaged ligaments, rather than a break, and could be back later in the season.
“It’s good in so far as it’s not as bad as it might have been,” said Harte. “It’s not god news that he’s out for three months or more, but thankfully it isn’t his season, and that’s the good news about it.”
Tyrone’s Division One campaign has been chequered so far, with home wins over Meath and Kerry followed up with defeats on the road to Monaghan and Galway respectively.
Saturday evening's victory has somewhat alleviated Tyrone’s relegation fears, but Harte stressed it is vital that the squad don’t rest on their laurels as they look towards their remaining two fixtures against Donegal and Mayo.
Like Tyrone, both those teams will be battling to avoid the other relegation place after Meath’s demotion to Division Two was confirmed on Sunday with their fifth defeat from five.
“You don’t want to be a one day up, one day down team. The league is always about consistency, so that’s the next challenge for us. We don’t want to live off this victory and think, ‘That was a great day’ and enjoy the trip home, but go and lose the next two games. That wouldn’t be pretty.
“All these things you can speculate about now because you have the results now, but you couldn’t have told me after we beat Kerry that we’d have that performance we got against Galway in Tuam. I don’t know what will happen against Donegal but I hope it’s nothing like Tuam."
