'I think we all just started taking it for granted' - Niall Morgan demands Tyrone raise standards again
RAISE STANDARDS: Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan kicks to miss a free during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Armagh and Tyrone at BOX-IT Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
When Tyrone and Mayo fans convene in Castlebar tomorrow, they will trade familiar tales.
Forever soldered by their experiences around the 2021 All-Ireland final, both counties have slumped each summer since.
Tyrone suckered a gallant Mayo at the end of that pandemic disturbed season of 2021 yet instead of striding confidently forward, the two football strongholds have struggled for any real Championship traction.
Of the 15 Championship games that Tyrone have contested since 2021, they've won just six. They've only contested a single All-Ireland quarter-final and were well beaten by Kerry on that occasion, in 2023.
Life hasn't been a whole pile better for Mayo. They've played 17 Championship games across the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, winning nine. Like Tyrone, they haven't been beyond an All-Ireland quarter-final nor won a provincial title since 2021.
The one consolation for both counties is that they've managed to play Division 1 football each season since and they will meet again in that arena tomorrow.
Mayo have actually thrived in league terms, contesting the 2022 final and winning the 2023 instalment, though their fans will reflect upon harder Championship times when they gather for the Round 3 encounter at MacHale Park.
"I think if you look at the two teams, the changeover in personnel in the two teams would tell part of the tale," said Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan, explaining the slumps. "Like, Mayo's team is nearly unrecognisable compared to then, it's nearly a complete turnaround of players.
"Our team has seen massive changes as well. I was listening to (former joint manager) Feargal Logan on a podcast and he said he inherited an ageing team. I'm maybe included in that! But we have moved on again and we're trying to blood a lot of new boys as well and, look, things probably just haven't worked out in the last couple of years.
"We maybe tried to play too open at times and then too closed at others. It's trying to find that balance that we did have in 2021 where we nearly knew, 'Right, now is the time to batten down the hatches and make this really difficult' and other times it was 'Go and press really high and let's express ourselves'. You're constantly seeking to regain that form."
Morgan, the All-Star goalkeeper of 2021, takes some of the blame for the fall off in Tyrone's form.
"I think we all just started taking it for granted, that we've won the All-Ireland, so we have the right to go back and do it again," he said. "I know I've said it in the past that I felt some players maybe lost their hunger, and sometimes I've listened back to myself and thought, 'People are going to listen to that and think that I'm blaming other people' but I'm not.
"It's a collective thing where we maybe just accepted that standards slipped a little bit in training. Myself, I'm horrible for time-keeping, being late for meetings, maybe wearing the wrong gear. And once standards start to slip, like, I know it's a cliche about the one percents but they do up add up to the 2 percents, the five percents and the 10 percents and you can't just switch it on at the weekend and think, 'Oh sure we won an All-Ireland last year, it'll be alright'.
"Or the following year it might be, 'Ah sure we won the All-Ireland the year before, we just had a bad year last year'. That all starts to compound itself. The only thing we can really take out of the last couple of years is that we have stayed up in Division 1 - and then Dublin and Armagh show us that maybe we should have went down!"
An All-Star again in 2024, Morgan still has a smile on his face at least and, turning 34 this year, is happy to state that he will keep coming back indefinitely.
"I won't walk away, I won't retire, somebody's going to have to take the spot off me before I walk," he declared.
He makes the point that the 2021 All-Ireland win was achieved off the back of a group of players that won an U-21 All-Ireland six years earlier. Tyrone won the corresponding U-20 championship again in 2024.
"So based on that it would leave me at 38, 39," said Morgan, extrapolating when their next senior success might come, around 2030. "Can I see myself still being fit to play at that stage? I'm not taking any year for granted at this stage, I'm just enjoying it while I'm there."
It's early days yet in 2025 but Mayo have identified tomorrow's game as a must-win. They're pointless after losses to Dublin and Galway. Tyrone picked up a win over Derry in Round 1, so their need isn't quite as great.
"We're still missing players like Petey (Harte), Darragh and Ruairi (Canavan), Joe (Oguz) and Cormac Quinn," Morgan noted. "You've got Paudie Hampsey still missing, Conor Meyler, they're all big players for us. It's trying to find who is willing to step up and take their places."
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