Red Hand hunger as fierce as ever, insists bullish McMahon

THEIRS is a dressing room littered with Ulster and All-Ireland medals but Tyrone’s relegation to Division Two has emboldened their critics who are openly wondering whether the team’s once mighty appetite has been sated.

Joe McMahon doesn’t believe that for a second: “You talk of hunger,” said the versatile Omagh man who has two Celtic Crosses to his credit. “Take a look at Brian Dooher,. He is 35 and he is coming back from injury time and time again. The hunger is definitely there in training.

“You can see it in other boys as well and boys can take pride from Dooher’s leadership. They look up to him. The hunger is definitely there and you will see it come championship time.”

Tyrone certainly seem better equipped for the summer than they were the spring. Like Dooher, Steven O’Neill is back on board after a number of months wrapped in cotton wool.

Sean Cavanagh should also be primed for a big campaign after returning towards the end of the league, although the absences of players like Conor Gormley, Ciaran Gourley and Aidan Cassidy will be felt.

All told then, the jury is still out on Tyrone’s prospects for the months to come. For now, no-one is talking up their chances of claiming the Sam Maguire for a fourth time.

Events this Sunday will provide a clearer picture. An opening fixture against Antrim would have been welcomed as a plum draw as recently as two years ago but Liam Bradley’s arrival in Belfast has changed all that.

These two counties last met in last year’s Ulster decider and, although Tyrone cantered comfortably to the title, there is little doubt but that Antrim will be all the better for the experience and highly unlikely to suffer stage fright comparable to that particular day.

Antrim will still go into the weekend’s business as underdogs but they are entitled to see themselves as their illustrious opponents’ equals nonetheless.

Last year, Tyrone were plying their trade in the top tier of the NFL while Antrim were seeking an exit from the competition’s basement. How quickly everything can change. They will be crossing swords in Division Two next year, proof positive that the gap between the pair has been squeezed if not completely eliminated.

“Antrim are going to be a tough team,” McMahon said. “They are the form team going into it on results. People are writing Tyrone off and saying we are a tired team. Time will tell. I think Tyrone have the hunger there.

“We know Antrim will be a tough task and they have learned a lot from last year. As have we.

They had maybe a wee bit too much respect for Tyrone last year and maybe looked up to us. I think they will now come in all guns blazing for the first game.”

Harte concurs. According to the Tyrone manager, Bradley’s side will take to the field this Sunday determined to “make a statement of intent”. Good though Antrim may have been in 2009, he believes the 2010 is even better.

“That was always the big challenge for them because they had such a successful season last year. They got the promotion up to Division Three and they got to the Ulster final for the first time in so many years.

“People would have asked how they would stay there, how they would carry that tag with them now, but they have carried it very comfortably by getting another promotion even though they lost the final (to Sligo). I don’t think they will be too perturbed about that.

“St Gall’s winning the All-Ireland as well has given them the impetus of a lot of players who have All-Ireland medals, which they didn’t have before this. So, they have definitely built on last year’s success and they are a formidable outfit.”