Football

Tyrone need to win Ulster to progress - Ryan McMenamin

Tyrone's NFL Division Two final win at Croke Park last weekend will need to be followed up by an Ulster title, according to Ryan McMenamin (below) 
Tyrone's NFL Division Two final win at Croke Park last weekend will need to be followed up by an Ulster title, according to Ryan McMenamin (below)  Tyrone's NFL Division Two final win at Croke Park last weekend will need to be followed up by an Ulster title, according to Ryan McMenamin (below) 

FORMER Tyrone defender Ryan McMenamin says the current team needs to follow up their NFL Division Two success with an Ulster title in order to keep the momentum of progress and development moving forward.

The Red Hands have not won the Anglo-Celt Cup since 2010, two years after the last of their three All-Ireland triumphs. McMenamin won his fifth provincial championship medal six years ago and, since his retirement in 2012, has watched in frustration as the provincial prize proved elusive year-after-year.

"It's something that they need to win, to give them that confidence, if they are to push on for bigger honours further on down the year," he said.

"They're going along the right tracks, so you would be hoping on the evidence of Division Two, where it was mostly Ulster teams, Tyrone seemed to be that level above. They have got a good draw as well [in Ulster] and you would hope that, if they can get out of Celtic Park, they would have a good chance. The team seems to be coming along well, it's a good young team, and you saw on Sunday that the boys played well."

In a little over three weeks, Tyrone will face Derry for the fourth time this year. Mickey Harte's side have won all of the previous encounters, as well as an O Fiaich Cup tie just before Christmas, and while McMenamin expects a fierce challenge from the home side, he believes Tyrone can make it through to a semi-final meeting with either Cavan or Armagh.

"It's definitely going to be a tough game and Derry are always good for an ambush every so often," he added.

"The teams have met three or four times already and Tyrone seem to have that edge. But I would say Derry have been studying Tyrone a lot over the last couple of games. It's going to be a big challenge, but you'd like to think that Tyrone can push on. Mickey will have them in the right frame of mind."

The treble All-Ireland winner views last weekend's success in the Division Two final as a significant breakthrough for the younger members of the squad, most of whom had previously won nothing at senior level outside of a few Dr McKenna Cup titles.

And the experience of playing and winning at Croke Park was an added bonus for a group of emerging players: "A lot of those players haven't won a lot with Tyrone at senior level, so that gave them a trophy of their own, gave them a chance to create a bit of history for themselves.

"And Mickey gave a lot of the boys a good run-out, he emptied the bench, so the boys have got a good idea now of what it takes to win at Croke Park and it's a good development for the team winning that title.

"You can't beat playing at Croke Park and winning at Croke Park. It will have whetted the boys' appetite for later on in the year, they'll want to get back there now in August. So they have the experience of playing there and, more importantly, the experience of winning at Croke Park, which is something Tyrone haven't done in big games recently."

Tyrone's fast-moving, counter-attacking game is perfectly suited to the group of players assembled by manager Harte and they are becoming more comfortable with the system with every outing: "It suits them. It's all about pace and power, counter-attacking at break-neck speed. There's a lot of pace in the team and a lot of strength," Rice said.

"The system is now more developed, they have been working on it since last year and you can see now the benefits, they all have a good understanding of what the system is about."