“We would have been in a much more healthier position” – Cathal McShane on players leaving Tyrone panel
Lee Costello
Lee Costello
“If they were still in our team, it would make us a dangerous weapon.”
Sam Maguire looked impossible for most counties in the last six years or so, given Dublin’s defiant dominance, but if a team were to reach the holy grail, all money would have been on Kerry or Mayo to do so.
Tyrone however, came out of the woodwork and beat those two teams to break the monopoly, and win the county’s first All-Ireland title since 2008.
With medals in the back pocket, and a target on their back, everyone is out to beat the Ulster side this year, and they have struggled to reproduce some of last year’s brilliance in the league so far.
“But things happen in private life that you need to deal with, and rightly so, and who is to say that a few of those guys might be back next year.
“They are all good fellows, but if they were still in our team, it would make us a dangerous weapon.
“Every year, you set out with the aim to win Sam, and that’s no different this year, but last year probably did take a lot out of us, just with it being a long season, COVID, and straight back into club football after that.
“You get a short time off, but now we’re back into it and we do know that we’re not where we want to be, we need to improve, and we need to get better.
“That’s the exciting thing though, it gives us room to go forward, really drive each other on and go to new levels again, and see where it takes us.”
The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10