Tyrone need to inject element of doubt into Dubs

Back in the day when everyone believed the Armagh footballers lived in a gym where they slept on weights benches, it was notable Joe Kernan never made any attempt to dispel the hype which surrounded his team.

Given that he grew up in an era when Ulster players believed in the mythology that surrounded Kerry football, Kernan understood the value of propaganda.

In fact, rather than dismissing the stories which celebrated Armagh’s emphasis on weight training, Kernan actively cultivated the notion ‘Geezer’ and the boys were stronger than everyone else.

Following their All-Ireland victory in 2002, Kernan had the orange jersey redesigned. Armagh were one of the first counties to embrace the tight-fitting style which accentuates the definition of the upper-body. In order to make the Armagh players look even bigger again, the size of the number on the back of the jerseys was reduced. As Armagh kept winning their aura of invincibility grew stronger and stronger.

By the time Tyrone met Armagh in the 2003 All-Ireland final, Mickey Harte realised he needed to reassure his players they would be competing against men, and not 15 Ivan Dragos.

Harte’s method was simple but effective. Using the pen pics from a match programme, he calculated the average weight of each Armagh player. He then repeated this sum for his own team.

The results showed that on average each Armagh man was about a pound heavier than his Tyrone counterpart.

To demonstrate how little this was, Harte passed a bag of sugar around the Tyrone dressing room and announced this was the average difference in weight between the players.

By challenging the popular image which enveloped Armagh, Harte made a very important acknowledgement. He accepted that it’s not just ordinary fans who believe hyperbole. Players do too.

And once players start thinking the opposition is stronger or fitter than them, they are doomed.

Mickey Harte understands the power of the media and the impressionability of a player’s mind, so he will appreciate the importance of Sunday’s National League final.

Forget about the New Ireland Trophy. Tyrone don’t need to win the league. But they do need to beat Dublin.

The importance of this match cannot be underestimated. Dublin are the rising team. Favourites for this year’s All-Ireland title, the Dubs are going to be a major force for the foreseeable future.

And Dublin’s biggest rival during the next few years could very well be Tyrone.

Indeed, there’s a strong possibility these two teams will dominate the remainder of the decade.

However, if Tyrone are to gain a starring rather than supporting role then they need to clip Dublin’s wings, and they need to do it sooner than later.

Their recent league victory doesn’t count.

Jim Gavin put out a weakened team for that fixture. His starting 15 didn’t feature Stephen Cluxton, Rory O’Carroll, Bernard Brogan or Philly McMahon.

The fact Tyrone still only managed to win by a point will not have done Dublin’s confidence any harm.

Indeed, the mental fortitude of the Dublin team represents a stark contrast to the fragile outfits that were once sliced and diced by Tyrone in Croke Park.

But as far as the current Dublin team are concerned, those results are ancient history. Only four players (Cluxton, Bryan Cullen, Diarmuid Connolly and Alan Brogan) started the 2008 quarter-final.

More recently, it’s Dublin that has enjoyed the upper hand against Tyrone.

They may have enjoyed the rub of the green in beating the Red Hands in 2010, but there was no doubt about which was the better team in the following year’s clash, which the Dubs won convincingly, 0-22 to 0-15.

Dublin’s seasoned players no longer fear Tyrone’s talented manager and his team’s brand of ‘Total Football’.

And neither Ciarán Kilkenny nor Paul Mannion are kept awake by nightmares of Owen Mulligan’s famous goal — for the simple reason that they were only 14-years-old when he scored it.

The trouble for Tyrone is that if Dublin keep winning, then the publicity and hype surrounding their achievements is going to be unstoppable.

Given that the Dublin-based media can’t control themselves over a limited Kildare outfit with a few decent U21 players, it’s scary to imagine how they’ll behave with Jim Gavin’s team.

Apart from checking Dublin’s propaganda machine, Mickey Harte needs to create some mystique around his own squad.

It needs to be remembered that this Tyrone panel, which includes 16 new players, is still very much in the embryonic stage. That explains why Harte has gone hell-for-leather this year.

He knows nothing breeds confidence like success. Tyrone have already won the McKenna Cup.

If Tyrone’s new players collect National League medals it will add another layer of self-belief.

But it’s the bigger picture that really matters.

Somewhere down the line these two counties are going to meet in the Championship, so it’s crucial that Tyrone inject an element of doubt into the minds of the Dublin players who don’t remember 2005 or 2008. Dublin hearts used to flutter a little at the sight of the Red Hand. That’s no longer the case. Tyrone need to re-establish some of that old uncertainty. If they don’t, then Tyrone’s footballers are going to be spending more and more time reading stories about the brilliance of the Sky Blues.

And if that proves to be the case, Mickey Harte will need more than a bag of sugar to convince his players that they’re only playing humans.