GAA:STEPHEN O'NEILL has handed Tyrone a massive boost ahead of this weekend's blockbuster All-Ireland quarter-final by informing Mickey Harte that he's fully fit and ready to face the Dublin.

O’Neill has missed all three of the Red Hands’ qualifier games with a hamstring injury, but he feels he can give 100 per cent at Croke Park on Saturday evening.

He did make a fleeting appearance in the win over Roscommon, coming on as a sub deep into stoppage time.

“I trained last week, and will be training this week again, so hopefully I can get a wee bit longer the next day,” said O’Neill. “I’m just delighted to get the injury cleared up, and maybe now give it a push and help the team.”

And while he was only sprung from the bench in the dying moments last weekend, the former Footballer of the Year was relieved to get back on the pitch.

“I was delighted to be thought of, and get a wee run on for 10 or 20 seconds.”

Croke Park was hardly more than a quarter-full last weekend, but the ground is expected to be heaving on Saturday and O’Neill believes Tyrone will revel in the big-game atmosphere, however hostile it may be.

“It’s a game to look forward to, with 82,00 here, it’s just an amazing place to be, with that noise, and we’re looking forward to it.

“It’s going to be a very tough game for us. Dublin have been there or thereabouts for this last couple of years, and they’re improving all the time. They’re a big, strong, physical team and they are well organised, so it’s going to be a tough battle.”

Tyrone are seeking revenge for last year’s defeat at the same stage. On that occasion, the Red Hands kicked themselves out of it with 17 wides, but O’Neill insisted Dublin must take some credit for their opponents’ huge tally of misses.

“If you look back at the game, Dublin put us under a lot of pressure when we were shooting. We were shooting from bad angles and we couldn’t penetrate the Dublin defence. People are saying, you had 17 wides, but a lot of it was down to Dublin’s good defence, so we’re going to have to work out a plan of how we can shoot from better angles and under less pressure.”

Against Roscommon last weekend, Tyrone struggled in the first half, but Harte shook things up after the break, and they coasted to an 11 points win.

“We regrouped at half-time. Brian (Dooher) and Mugsy (Eoin Mulligan) came on and that seemed to settle things down a lot for us, that wee bit of experience, and we kept the shape a bit better in the second half I thought. We’re just delighted to get the win and get over the tricky hurdle.”

The Clan na nGael man accepts that he will have to play for his place in an attack that chalked up a healthy 3-19 total against Roscommon, with 11 players on the scoresheet.

“Definitely. There’s a lot of competition for places, and we’re very happy with that scoreline, especially after the poor enough scoreline.”

And he conceded that the players found it difficult to guard against complacency last weekend, given the popular belief that they would have little difficulty in taking out the beaten Connacht finalists.

“It is hard, you have to try your best to guard against it. You saw the first half, Roscommon definitely put it up to us, they have some very good players, and they’re definitely going to be a team for the future.”

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Tomás Flatharta has declared his intentions to remain in charge of the Galway senior footballers next year, despite their disappointing league and championship form.

Flatharta was given a three-year deal last autumn, but recently met with the officials of the Galway football board that originally appointed him in order to review the year, and after which Flatharta announced his wishes to continue at least through 2012.

Galway were beaten by Meath in round two of the qualifiers.