GAVIN CUMMISKEYtalks to former Tyrone legend Peter Canavan about how his county is leaving no stone unturned in their quest for back-to-back titles
CORK LOOK the real deal but for Tyrone Sunday is the penultimate step in their pursuit of immortality. They won an All-Ireland without Peter Canavan in 2008 but this decade has seen them twice fail to retain their title 12 months on.
It was not Kerry who beat them. Each time it was an also-ran, prompting the suggestion that in 2004, 2006 and 2007 they have beaten themselves.
Despite out-thinking Kerry en route to their three All-Irelands this century, the fact is in this decade Kerry are so far the dominant force with four All-Irelands to Tyrone’s three. Kerry also had back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
This became Tyrone’s fresh motivation, amazingly, just one day after last year’s success.
“Without a doubt there is a change in approach,” explained Canavan, now a television pundit but as close as any man can get to being inside the Tyrone bubble. “The following evening after they won the All-Ireland last year I was listening to Mickey Harte talking about Tyrone’s target being to win back-to-back All-Irelands. And this was mid-celebration.
“I wasn’t surprised to hear that because Mickey is a driven man. He knows this group of players need a target and that is to now do something that has never been done before by any Tyrone team.”
In 2004 they were still mourning the sudden death of Cormac McAnallen when they lost in Ulster to Donegal and then an All-Ireland quarter-final to Mayo. This was emphatically corrected in 2005.
In 2006 the odyssey seemed to be over after a meek surrender to Derry before Laois ended their season. In 2007 they won Ulster but lost to Meath in the quarter-finals. Then came the 2008 renaissance.
“They know what it is like to go out and enjoy their celebrations but get dumped the next year,” Canavan continues. “They have been through that mill before so they are aware a different approach was needed. They were very keen from day one to maintain the fitness levels that they had from last year. There was no real lull as such and they started training earlier than ever before.
“In previous years Tyrone would have trained collectively for one night a week up until April or May, whereas this year they were training two nights a week from early February on.
“I think the players quickly got the message and bought into what the management was trying to do and you’ve seen the end results so far.”
The return to fitness of Stephen O’Neill, Owen Mulligan and Brian McGuigan has been a tremendous boost this season. O’Neill has been out for a long time and played very little football so he has been getting better and better with every game he stays injury free. In the case of Mulligan, he is in the shape of his life.
“Such is the competition for places that there are other options with the likes of Brian McGuigan, Colm McCullough, Colin Holmes and Seán O’Neill from Dromore sitting on the bench. Those players would be automatic selections on other county teams. When you do get on the first 15 you do everything you can to hold on to that jersey.”
And yet, a slight hesitation creeps into Canavan’s thinking. “The only thing you would be concerned about is they had such a long year last year, and have been training so hard this year, is whether they can sustain that to the third Sunday in September. Only time will tell.”
Those paying attention this week will hear that Cork are a big strong team, nearing full maturity and ravenous for a big scalp in Croke Park. Canavan sees the return of his Errigal Ciarán clubmate Enda McGinley as a key element in taking Seán Cavanagh off the midfield leash. “If you go down through the past two years a lot of teams have won the midfield battle against Tyrone but ended up losing the game by four or five points. It’s what you do with the ball that is more important.
“I think when they get to the ground they will win enough ball or defensively they will break up the Cork attacks and push forward from there.”
