MICKEY HARTE revealed on Thursday night he has already begun preparations for next season, despite the fact he has not been offered a new term as manager of the Tyrone team.
Harte has had a meeting with the players since last weekend’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Kerry. And he plans to begin the search for new talent by attending club championship games over the next few weeks. Harte said his attentions have already turned to making a serious challenge for the All-Ireland title in 2016.
“My mind is already on 2016, my mind is on preparation,” he said, at a special interview event hosted by http://teamtalkmag.com
“My mind is on looking at the club championship to see is there anyone there who is really putting up their hand to say, ‘you’d need to be looking at me’. Because I want to be doing that, and that’s where we’re heading just now.”
Harte met the players on Wednesday evening to review a roller-coaster season which saw Tyrone suffer relegation from Division One of the National Football League, before crashing out of the Ulster Championship at the preliminary round stage, before staging a sensational revival which took them all the way to the All-Ireland semi-final.
“I had a meeting with the players last night [Wednesday], and I gave them a briefing of what I thought about their season, and what my intentions are for the following season. And there’s nobody under any doubt that we want to be a team to be reckoned with in the season that’s coming.”
And on the issue of being without a term extension for the first time since he took over the job 13 years ago, he said: “I don’t know whether I’m surprised, or disappointed, or whatever it is, but it would be nice to have that invitation for sure because I have worked hard at this for the years that I’ve been at it, from the minors of 1991.
“I have always put my heart and soul into it. I’m delighted to have had that opportunity and I do appreciate every one of those years that I got the opportunity to do that, and I certainly would appreciate some more years.”
Harte has made it clear on a number of occasions since last weekend’s All-Ireland SFC defeat to Kerry that he wants to remain in the post and take charge of the county team for a 14th season.
For the first time since he took over late in 2002, he does not have an extended arrangement in place with the county board. Officially, his term ended with last Sunday’s Croke Park exit from the All-Ireland series.
