McCarron capable of competing at top level, insists Coggins

Prodigal son Cathal McCarron is capable of competing at the top level with Tyrone again.

That’s the view of London manager Paul Coggins who was in charge of the 2013 All Star nominee briefly this year.

Defender McCarron has struggled with a gambling addiction and moved to London for a spell where he played with the Round Towers club and Coggins’ Exiles.

A statement from the Gaelic Players Association has confirmed that the Dromore club man is back at home and in line for a return to Mickey Harte’s panel.

“It’s very positive and I wish the man the best of luck,” said former boss Coggins. “He’s obviously doing a lot of good things to get back involved in a squad like Tyrone’s.

“He’s a good footballer and he brought a lot of positives to the London squad while he was here. He has huge experience of playing in big games and we enjoyed our time working with him.

“Absolutely he’s capable of playing at the top level. He wouldn’t be back in the Tyrone squad if he’s not able to do that.”

A statement from the GPA said McCarron is working hard on his fitness with a view to being included in Harte’s panel next month.

Tyrone are currently prohibited from training due to the close season ban. The GPA statement said that McCarron “will not be engaging with media in any capacity for the foreseeable future”.

Tyrone spokesman Eunan Lindsay said the county board would have no comment to make on the player until he was officially confirmed as a panel member. That is expected to occur in early December when Harte decides on his 2015 squad.

Tyrone’s first competitive game of 2015 will be a Section A McKenna Cup game on Sunday, January 4.