Former Tyrone Minor manager Paul Devlin says the current crop of teenagers have earned the right to complete their Championship journey.
The Ulster Minor Football Championship was halted for a third time in December, when increased Covid-19 restrictions forced the postponement of the semi-finals, with Tyrone due to face Derry and Fermanagh set to take on Monaghan on January 3.
The Ulster Council has stated that it intends to complete the competition ‘at the first available opportunity’, but fears are growing that it may have to be abandoned.
“We hope it gets put back on, because they have the right to play it, and they deserve to get that opportunity,” said Devlin.
“Hopefully all efforts possible will be made to get that competition played.”
Devlin, who has been U20 manager for the last three seasons, leading the Red Hands to back-to-back Ulster titles, said the current U17 squad are at a crucial stage of their football development, and could drift away from the game should the current competition fail to complete.
“It’s a big learning curve for these lads, who will be disappointed with it if it doesn’t take place.
“It’s a question of what more we can get out of these lads, and hope that they don’t lose their way, because there’s a big step there from U17 to the U20s.”
Most of Ulster’s Minor teams have had just three competitive games in the 2020 season, with the League abandoned after the second round, and the Championship failing to progress further than the first round. The Qualifier rounds have also been removed due to the public health crisis.
But Devlin, who managed the Tyrone Minors in 2016 and 2017, insisted that the prospect of re-engaging with the competition should act as an incentive for the players.
“That’s a big incentive for those lads, that they have missed out on a lot of that Minor football, the feeling of playing through the summer.
“So there’s that drive to push into the U20 panel over the next two or three years.
“It’s down to the individual, and what they want now, but they need encouragement to not drop the head, to keep working with their club, to break into the club senior set-up and then push on to that next U20 level with the county.”
He lauded the maturity shown by the players in dealing with a difficult situation, maintaining their fitness levels through individual training programmes despite suffering the blow of three postponements.
Only one Championship game has gone ahead, which saw the Red Hands defeat Donegal by a point in Ballybofey.
“To keep young lads like that focused is not easy.
“So full credit to Collie (Holmes, manager) and the back-room team for what they did with those lads and what they achieved that day in Ballybofey.
“And I’m sure that if the game is on against Derry, Collie will have them fully focused to go again at it.”
The U20 boss has also had to deal with delays, but did achieve closure with the eventual completion of the Championship.
Ulster champions Tyrone lost out to Dublin in the All-Ireland semi-final, but it was Galway who went on to clinch the title at Croke Park.
“We weren’t so badly affected, for our competition was well advanced, and down to the last four, and ninety per cent of the football was already played.
“But the way the world has gone, you can take nothing for granted.”
