Tyrone must get drive and hunger back, says Harte

TYRONE manager Mickey Harte believes his All-Ireland champions need to rediscover their 2003 drive and hunger to overcome qualifier rivals Galway in Croke Park on Saturday week.

While it is the marquee third-round qualifier, both sides seem to have slipped a little since their epic league semi-final two months ago.

“I think we are both in the same boat,” the Tyrone manager said.

“Neither of us wanted to go the scenic route. We are in a similar situation because people are asking questions about the appetite of both teams.

“It is something I have said all year. We don’t appear to have that appetite and hunger back from last year. Even now, I still don’t know whether we have or not. We are going to find out in the Galway game.”

The two League semi-finals caused a stir between the two managers, with both Harte and John O’Mahony questioning the opposition’s tactics. It led to a small spat in print for a couple of days, but that storm has abated.

“Of all the possible draws, this was the hardest draw. Galway are potential All-Ireland candidates every year, but every draw is a good draw because it means you are still in the championship.

“But we need to regain the kind of intense, competitive football that won us the All-Ireland. I don’t know why that has been missing. People might think we owe Galway a beating from the league semi-final, but when you play any of the top sides, you should not be short of motivation.”

Tyrone’s facile victory over Down on Saturday didn’t answer all the questions. However, the manager’s son Mark did prove his worth in Newry. Harte junior has come in for some unwarranted criticism in Red Hand circles since the Donegal game. His seven points on Saturday may silence some of those doubters.

“I am very happy when any of my players play well. Mark’s job in the forward line is to finish the chances we create and that is what Mark did on Saturday. Mark made a couple of errors, as any player would during a match, but he did a lot more good things.”

Harte junior might have quashed some doubts, but Harte senior knows doubts still exist about the shape of his entire team. Saturday week will see one of the contenders bow out of the championship. “If it is going to be us, we are going to have take our game to a higher level than we have played at so far,” says Harte.