Niall Sludden: 'We're well prepared for the Donegal challenge'
Niall Sludden the Tyrone Ulster Final press-conference.
By Orla Bannon
Niall Sludden hopes Tyrone will be able to out-think Donegal and adapt to whatever game-plan is thrown at them in Sunday's Ulster SFC final.
Defensive systems, kick-out tactics and counter-attacking avenues are some of the strategies both camps will be fine-tuning this week ahead of an eagerly awaited provincial final at St Tiernach's Park, Clones.
Donegal have knocked Tyrone out of the Ulster championship in four of the last five seasons and posed a conundrum that the Red Hands have been unable to solve, but Sludden believes they will find a way.
“We know it's going to be a different challenge against Donegal and trying to break them down. That is the modern game now. Don't worry. We will be well prepared for that and whatever eventuality happens, it's not just down to the people on the sideline.
“We are very much thinking players so we have to think for ourselves out on the field. When you have a number of leaders with the amount of experience we have, we feel it's very easy to do that.”
The pacey Dromore defender is built for the modern game. His speed and ability to play in a variety of positions have resulted in him becoming a nailed-on starter in Mickey Harte's side this season.
“I'm very versatile and I think in the modern game you have to adapt to that and be able to rotate around the various positions,” he said. “I'm very aware I can be put in a number of positions and my game is just based around that. You have to be a thinking player and adapt to whatever way you are playing.
“On different days you have to adapt to different ways of playing and with different personnel, but I don't find that too much of a challenge. I enjoy that tactical side of the game and changing up my game whatever way the other team plays, and whatever way we're playing as well. That's what I feel I can offer, I can adapt to various situations.”
Niall Sludden will make his Ulster Senior Football Championship debut for Tyrone.
Sludden was part of the 2010 All-Ireland winning minor team but a bad leg break in 2013 stalled his progress at U21 and senior level. After coming into the squad last year, he's really established himself this season and while he admits he's “a small bit” surprised how quickly he's secured a place, he has the confidence to stay there.
“I'd be quite confident in my ability and I've worked hard. Like coming into any team, I thought I would have to wait to get my chance but I got that chance very early in the year and knew I would have to take it because of the level of competition. But I still need to be kept on my toes. It's very important to keep pushing on.”
Sludden missed a chance right at the end of the drawn Ulster semi-final against Cavan which could have taken Tyrone straight into their first Ulster final since 2010. Such is his mental fortitude, missing the winner didn't bother him and reckons the replay might have been a blessing in disguise for Tyrone, who secured a confidence-boosting 5-18 to 2-17 win in the replay.
“I'm very much a person of high self-belief and at that stage, the chance was gone and I was already focusing on the next day. I knew that if a chance came the next day that I'd be fit to take it and lucky enough it came and I got the first point.
“Some people would let that affect them but certainly for myself it's no problem because I know I'm confident to go out the next day and get a score. You could have gone in to the final not really as fully prepared as you'd want and that extra game has brought us on that wee bit more and maybe got our defensive structure back more in place too.
“It's a very good thing to get games. The more games and more practice you get the better. It's the same for Donegal, they got an extra game against Monaghan, so it helps both teams there.”
