GAELIC GAMES: Keith Duggan talks to Tyrone's quiet man Stephen O'Neill, who despite his recent brilliance is happiest when team-mates take the spotlight.

Although the play of Stephen O'Neill has made him an incandescent figure all through Tyrone's league and championship campaign, away from the field he is happier on the fringe.

By nature, he is the quiet man of the Tyrone team. Nonetheless, he turned up at the appointed hour on the team press evening in Carrickmore. He sought refuge behind the photographers' screen, leaning against a rear wall, as far away as possible from the bright lights.

All through the Ulster championship O'Neill was in devastating form and it has only been in recent games that his scoring average has dipped a little, something he himself was quick to acknowledge. He didn't make a song and dance of it on the afternoons when he achieved a standard that nobody came close to matching and isn't unduly bothered now either.

"You're not going to play well every time but you have to keep working and helping the team out, showing for the ball and defending and that. I play full forward for the club and I enjoy that position but when it comes to playing for Tyrone, you are just glad to have a jersey, and wherever you are asked to play, you do your best.

"As long as someone knocks over the scores in the final I'll not be too worried who scores them. And it is great to have Muggsy (Owen Mulligan) back to the kind of form he is showing at the minute."

Mulligan's outrageous return to form against Dublin and Peter Canavan's famous match-winning free in the All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh have meant O'Neill is no longer the name on everyone's lips going into the All-Ireland final.

That suits him fine. He remains a likely candidate for the Footballer of the Year award and even though he struggled at times in the great clashes against Dublin and Armagh, he still had the audacity to kick important scores when they mattered. And it seems logical that the attention O'Neill now demands from opposition defences has helped colleagues like Mulligan rediscover their own form.

But O'Neill would prefer to go about his business quietly anyway. He has never been a vocal player, even accepting his wrongful dismissal in the Ulster final replay with hardly a murmur when players from both teams were screaming blue murder all around him.

Although it was long recognised that O'Neill had exceptional talent, he never made much of a fuss about it.

It seems inconceivable now that he did not start the 2003 All-Ireland final for Tyrone, but waited patiently in the dugout until Mickey Harte sent him into action. He responded by kicking the points that gave Tyrone vital breathing space against their neighbours Armagh.

"It was disappointing not to start all right. But the team was playing so well that I had no complaints. I was just back from injury and I was glad that the team was so settled and was winning. Substitutes don't have the same role in the whole build-up to the final and I suppose that worked to my advantage because the nerves were that wee bit better. But I am looking forward to seeing what it is like from the other side."

Although much has been made of the likely meeting of Tyrone defender Ryan McMenamin and Colm Cooper, the Kerry scoring machine, nobody has voiced much opinion as to how and with whom the champions will seek to control O'Neill. He shakes his head at the mention of Cooper.

"Well, I rate them all very highly. You can't argue with their performances. People have said they had easy games but that is because of their preparation. They haven't given teams any chances and that is a credit to them. They have 15 excellent footballers and they can score from anywhere.

"Cooper is obviously a class act and they are trying to get him the ball as much as possible. I am sure if he was on our team we would be doing the same but he has great players all around him and if you examine the kind of ball that he has coming into him, it is the stuff that forwards dream about."

That Kerry have not conceded a goal in the championship has not been lost on O'Neill. Although O'Neill's versatility in open play has won him many admirers this year, he has also shown a cool head when taking penalties for the team. It is not, he says, a duty that he worries about.

"Nah, I don't bother practising them too much - I just hit them on the day. It is a bit of a responsibility, especially in tight games. I am just thankful they have gone in so far.

"You hear it all right but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what the crowd is doing. The ball is the most important thing and you have to keep your focus and make sure you get a good strike on it.

"I can't say that the crowd doesn't get to me - it might happen on Sunday. But you have to just hope you get a strike on it and that the goalkeeper doesn't guess the right way and that it goes in."