Tyrone Courier - Sports - New season and new era begin for the Red Hands

Sports

New season and new era begin for the Red Hands

Wednesday, 4 January 2012

A new season and a new era begin for Tyrone this weekend when the Power NI Dr McKenna Cup gets under way.
The retirement of a host of experienced stars means there will be a new look to the Red Hands side this season.
And Sunday's opener against Queen's University will offer an opportunity for exciting newcomers to lay down a claim for the places left vacant by the likes of Brian Dooher, Philip Jordan, Enda McGinley and Brian McGuigan.
Tyrone will also face Antrim and Fermanagh in their group games, and a huge crowd is guaranteed when Peter Canavan brings his Erne side to Healy Park for the final qualifying game on January 18.
Tyrone dominated the competition in the middle of the last decade, winning the title four times in succession, but have not claimed the McKenna Cup since 2007.
Manager Mickey Harte wants to make a strong start to the year by going for a first title five years in next month's series and lay down a solid platform ahead of the start of the National Football League in February.
“We're assured of three games at the moment, and our aim is to get five if you can," he said.
“And if you get five games, your preparation for the league will be in a better place than if you don't get that. So we're looking forward and hoping to stay in it as long as possible."
And Harte is not surprised that, since the Dr McKenna Cup was moved to its current January slot in the calendar, its winners have frequently gone on enjoy success in the championship.
“You have to have the winning mentality, it doesn't matter what competition you're playing in, if you don't set out to do your very best, then there's no on-off button in being competitive. You're either competitive all the time or you're just not there.
“So this early season competition lends itself to that, and I'm not surprised that there's a correlation between doing well in the McKenna Cup and doing well later on."
The Tyrone boss views the McKenna Cup as the perfect vehicle for preparation for the league campaign, which for Tyrone starts with a Croke Park meeting with Kildare in Division Two.
“I'm delighted that it comes in at this time of the year, I'm delighted that the counties in this province, and the people involved take it seriously, because if you didn't do that, it would be a waste of time, and we're no different than anyone else."
After meeting QUB and Antrim, Tyrone will conclude their group games with a highly anticipated meeting with Fermanagh, now managed by Red Hand legend Peter Canavan.
“It looks like a pretty serious encounter that, when you see the number of players who returning to the fold, and the names that are seasoned campaigners there," said Harte. "I think we will need to be at our very best if we're going to handle that. It's something to look forward to and I think it will be well supported."
Harte defended his decision to include college players in his squad, rather than release them to play for their university teams.
“I understand they can play for the college by all means, but if we don't see them first hand, they don't get mixing with our players, the season starts and they kinda' feel a bit out of it.
“So it is unfortunate for the colleges by all means, I can understand their plight.
“But at the same time, there are players we need to see, and we need to seem them right in front of us, with our own players, and there's no other way for it."
And the Tyrone boss accepted that with the retirement of some of his top players, the time has come for a new look to the squad, with a raft of newcomers drafted in.
“There's a bit of necessity and a bit of experimentation as well. Life moves on, some players go out the other side, and we have to give other players a chance.
“And I'm delighted that there's a real new wave of enthusiasm about the squad.
The young players are always good for a squad. It brings me back to 2003, when we brought in a whole lot of young lads who had just come out of U21s, or not long out of it.
“They came and joined the seasoned campaigners and I think it was a good cocktail to have.
“If we can conjure up anything like that again for this year, then we'll take that."
Tyrone squad
Dermot Carlin, Aidan Cassidy, Colm Cavanagh, Conor Clarke, Kyle Coney, John Devine, Matthew Donnelly, Ciaran Gervin, Peter Harte, Peter Hughes, Jonathan Lafferty, Damian McCaul, Aidan McCrory, Niall McKenna, Justin McMahon, Tommy McGuigan, Ronan McNabb, Stephen McNallly, Ronan McNamee, Patrick McNeice, Stephen McNulty, Michael Murphy, Ronan O'Neill, Sean O'Neill, Martin Penrose, PJ Quinn.