GAELIC GAMES: Ian O'Riordan hears how Tyrone's Owen Mulligan very nearly walked away from the team last year

With Tyrone reporting a fairly lengthy injury list manager Mickey Harte can be thankful for at least one thing. Last summer Owen Mulligan came close to walking away from the team, suffering a crisis in confidence and motivation. Despite even greater pressure on him this season, Mulligan appears confident of embracing the greater responsibilities, including filling the shoes of a certain Peter Canavan.

Among those likely to miss Sunday's Ulster quarter-final against Derry are full forward Stephen O'Neill and corner back Michael McGee (both with hamstring injuries). With centre forward Brian McGuigan out for the summer with a broken leg, two of the potential replacements - Ger Cavlan and Martin Penrose - are also doubtful with groin and ankle injuries respectively.

Which takes us to Mulligan. Although he, too, was bothered with a foot injury in recent weeks, he's ready to lead the Tyrone attack in what is sure to be the first serious test of their All-Ireland defence. That's a little different to last July, when Mulligan failed to make the Tyrone team for the Ulster final against Armagh.

"At that stage I did come very close to packing it in," admitted Mulligan. "I just wasn't happy sitting on the bench. It's not nice. I still give credit to the boys who forced me out of the team, because at the time they were playing better stuff than me. But I just found it hard sitting on the bench when I knew I should be on the team, had the ability.

"Especially when I didn't make the team for the Ulster final replay. I know it sounds a bit selfish, to be walking away and leaving all your team-mates. At the time I really kept it to myself, and some family members. But I think I can learn from that.

"Then I was lucky enough to get that goal against Dublin, and that changed the whole season for me. I know now had I walked away I would have been heartbroken. I've been playing with the county all the way through since minor at aged 16, with a lot of this team, and with Mickey Harte as manager as well. Had I walked away I would have been foolish, and I know as well if I am ever struggling again I won't be thinking about walking away again."

Harte was among those to convince Mulligan to ride out the storm, and he can only be too glad he did. With Canavan retired, along with defender Chris Lawn, the string of injury problems make a player like Mulligan all the more central to Tyrone's All-Ireland defence.

Despite his low points of last summer, Mulligan still ended scoring 2-21 in the championship - including 1-7 in the quarter-final replay against Dublin - and he reckons he's ready to step up on that in the coming weeks.

"I feel a lot fitter, and just need to get some match practice now. There's always a great buzz around training, and that helps, but it's our first year without Peter Canavan, and that's definitely a big difference. I think any team would miss Peter. He's going to be a big loss, but I think Chris Lawn will be a big loss as well . . . The leadership they showed won't be easily replaced.

"They would frequently bring you aside and talk to you, and that definitely helped me. So that will be strongly missed. But we just have to grow up from here without them. Peter did teach me a lot, and you just had to listen to what he was saying, because it would always come off. We're just going to have to do without him: we showed during stages of the league that we can."

Missing out on the play-offs of the league - by the minimal of points difference - denied Tyrone their more favoured run to the championship, and Mulligan doesn't see any advantages of them being out of the spotlight in recent weeks.

"I think in the past we've shown making the league finals has helped us, and I definitely believe the more games you have the better prepared you will be. It beats the training pitch.

"But I think we still have the hunger, and part of that is our fear of losing. We hate losing. The worst thing is going into a dark dressingroom after losing, with no one talking, and tears maybe. I don't like that feeling. I like going in there throwing my arms around people, and having the laugh. That's what spurs us on as well."