Too early for memorials to Harte and his old guard

ULSTER SFC (Quarter-final): Antrim v Tyrone (Casement Park, tomorrow 4pm)

There was a sense in the immediate aftermath of their defeat to Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final last August that this was an era-defining moment where their pre-eminence in the modern game was finally being subjugated.

There has been very little evidence in the interim to suggest that Tyrone are in the business of regeneration but such is the esteem in which Mickey Harte and his crew are held that very few people are queuing up to bet against the 6/4 odds being offered on them retaining the Ulster title they won at a canter last summer.