Despite four barren years as Tyrone senior football manager, Mickey Harte certainly hasn't lost the faith of his dressing room as he prepares for an 11th season at the helm.
Harte may have led the county to a National League, four Ulster titles, and the county’s three All-Ireland titles, but the pressure has nonetheless mounted upon him as the success has noticeably dried up in recent years.
“I would say that with the results the whole set-up was being questioned but I remember saying before that as long as I’ve been playing for Tyrone I can’t imagine playing under anyone but Mickey Harte and that is still the same and it’s never wavered, so Mickey still has the dressing room,” says 2013 All Star nominee and Tyrone utility man Mattie Donnelly.
“We never really got too bothered this year about the speculation and the pressure that the set-up was coming under because we had full confidence that the set up that’s there is sufficient.”
Knocked out
Last summer Tyrone overcame Down after a replay in the preliminary round of the Ulster championship, only to be knocked by Monaghan at the quarter final stage. Any possible resurgence through the qualifier rounds, a route Harte had down the years perfected, was then tamely ended by rivals Armagh in Omagh.
“There was a lot of negativity surrounding the early exit. Tyrone expect to be playing football later in the summer than we were this year. Certainly it led to a lot of reviews and soul-searching . . . .
“There’s no hiding like in other provinces, the top teams in other provinces have an easier route to the quarter-final in Croke Park.”
The Tyrone panel have lost 12 of the 19 players who featured in that 2010 Ulster final success over Monaghan, while Stephen O’Neill who was injured for that encounter is another stalwart of past successes to have since hung up his boots.
Both he and Martin Penrose announced their retirements during the summer.
“The players that have been there and breaking into the team are going to find themselves shouldering more responsibility next year with Stephen O’Neill gone, Martin Penrose gone,” said Donnelly who featured in this year’s International Rules series for Ireland.
“They would have been two players that would have been on our starting 15 most days so that frees up two slots for whoever’s willing to take them.”
Meanwhile the latest intercounty player to have announced their retirement, after nine years in the Laois defence, is 29-year-old Peter O’Leary.
