Morale never dipped in the Tyrone camp despite the dark days that saw a slump in form and a string of defeats, according to defender Cormac Quinn.
Four Championship losses on the trot sparked a Red Hand crisis as fortunes spiralled for a team that had been crowned All-Ireland champions as recently as 2021.
But they stuck together and finally halted the slide with victory over Armagh, setting up this weekend’s clash with Westmeath as a pathway to the knock-out stage of the Championship.
“Even in those defeats, we always had the belief in the camp, and it was about shutting out the noise from the outside and believing in ourselves,” said Quinn.
It’s been a particularly challenging season for the rookie wing back, a newcomer in a team struggling to rediscover the winning formula, but his apprenticeship has benefitted hugely from support and encouragement he received from the vastly experienced players around him.
“You’re surrounded by top class players and you can’t ask for better men to play with.
“They always keep you right and I must say they have been very good to me.”
The return of Mickey O’Neill from injury has made Tyrone defensively more secure, and the unseen work he gets through, including a handful of vital turnovers against Armagh, is one of the team’s most valuable assets.
“Mickey was probably under-recognised a bit in Tyrone. He’s one of the best men I have played with in terms of the off-the-ball work he does, in tracking runners and going after men.
“It’s the unseen work that he does, he’s top class and when you’re playing alongside Mickey, you know you have a good man beside you.”
Kingspan Breffni Park hosts Sunday’s concluding group game, with a place in the All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final up for grabs, but Quinn warned that nothing can be taken for granted against Westmeath.
“We saw Westmeath against Armagh. It’s not going to be easy, and we can’t write them off at all. It’s going to be a big test.”
Tyrone’s performance against Armagh was far from perfect, but did provide a template for development and progression.
“Look, there’s good belief in the squad. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was a positive result, and hopefully the next day we’ll put in a better account of ourselves.
“It was what you were expecting, it was always going to go down to the wire no matter what the circumstances.
“With the heat and everything else, it was a real cauldron. I enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn’t easy.
“By no means was that perfect, we definitely left some scores behind, and we were caught on the back foot a lot of times.
“It was a building block and something to improve on.”
The new round robin series has heralded significant change, but not for 23-year-old Errigal Ciaran man Quinn, who’s new to the inter-county scene this year and knows no other way.
“I know it’s something different, but for me, only new in this year, it’s just normal.
“It’s a lot of games, but we had that big break between the Ulster Championship and the All-Ireland.
“It’s good to get back playing competitive football, so I’m happy with that.”
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