Tyrone ace O'Neill in race for fitness

With all of the hype surrounding Tyrone football in recent seasons it is hard to believe that the Red Hands are chasing their first Ulster title in four campaigns but this is something which the injury-plagued Stephen O'Neill believes his side can put right in Sunday's final.

"Preparations are going well for us. They are going well as we had planned. Training is going well, everybody is out and they are looking forward to the game and it is very easy to get motivated for a final," O'Neill told breakingnews.ie, ahead of the Clones clash with Monaghan.

Injuries have plagued Mickey Harte's Tyrone squad in recent seasons and Gerard Cavlan has joined Cormac McGinley on the injury list, but there is some positive news for O'Neill who is making a rapid recovery from hamstring and knee injuries and is hoping to be fit for this weekend's showdown.

"There are a few injuries at the moment but they are clearing up well and hopefully we are getting a run now together where lads don't pick up any more knocks," O'Neill added.

There is no lack of motivation in the Tyrone camp at present and they are firmly intent on making amends from last year's agonising qualifier defeat at the hands of Laois in Portlaoise.

"We do definitely want to bounce back this year. Last year was very hard for us and it was easy for us to get motivated for the championship this year."

The mood in Tyrone is one of confidence but people in the county are not taking this Ulster final appearance for granted, as O Neill explains.

"It's been four years since we won an Ulster championship so it has been a long time. People want the win and they always want success and I suppose the result against Donegal surprised a few people. It's got the expectation level up a notch so we are just glad to be there."

Influential captain Brian Dooher picked up both the OPEL/GPA and Vodafone Player of the Month accolades for June last week and O'Neill feels that the half-forward is "a great leader" for the panel.

"Brian always sets the example and his work-rate is just second to none. He is just a brilliant player and he always produces that type of performance for us and always sets the example. He is a great leader for the whole team."

Mickey Harte took over the reigns as Tyrone manager in 2003 but O'Neill believes that he still brings a fresh approach to training.

"We do different things and we have different ideas for training and we put them into practice. At the end of the day, it's football and it doesn't change that much. We just get on with the way we are preparing and thankfully we usually prepare well," he explained.

Despite only being 27, O'Neill is one of the older players on this Tyrone team but he feels that the new players who have come into the squad this year have helped urge on everyone involved.

"It's good to see - you always need good young players coming through as it keeps things fresh. It just helps you push on that little bit in training as well when you see these boys coming in who are enthusiastic and they want to get on the team. They want to get your position."

Nothing will be taken for granted by Tyrone this weekend and although Monaghan have not contested an Ulster final since 1988, O'Neill was always mindful that they would be in contention for senior honours sooner or later.

"We did feel that we could be meeting Monaghan at some stage because they are a very good team.

"We have had very tough games against them over the past number of years and I'm just thinking back to a game at Croke Park that we had against them in the qualifiers and also in a couple of league games," he added.

"Even at youth level we always had a couple of tough games against Monaghan. We know they are a hard team to beat and that they would give a good crack at getting to the final and that's where they are."