MICKEY Harte has warned his players that they can’t afford to take comfort from their morale-boosting victory over Kerry.
With just one home game remaining – and three difficult away tests coming up – Tyrone face a number of hurdles on their NFL pathway.
And that single Healy Park tie is against All-Ireland champions Dublin, the only unbeaten team in the current campaign.
That follows this weekend’s trip to Tuam to take on Galway, who hold a three-way share of the Division One leadership along with the Red Hands and the Dubs.
“Every game we have left is a difficult one. We’re away to Galway, we’re away to Mayo, we’re away to Donegal, and Dublin are coming to us,” said Harte.
“That’s not an easy run-in for anybody, so points are precious, and the more we can get at this stage the better.”
The pressure on Tyrone was eased by a battling victory over Kerry, when a second successive defeat would have seen them slide into the bottom two, along with pointless Meath.
The margins are fine both in the heat of battle and in the Division One standings, with just a single point separating seven of the eight top tier teams.
Dublin, Tyrone and Galway have four points each, followed by four counties on three points – Donegal, Monaghan Kerry and Mayo – with scoring difference the only defining factor.
“That’s the way with this league. A win puts you in the top section and a loss puts you in the relegation zone, so every day we go out that will happen,” said Harte.
“You can move almost from the top side of the table to the bottom side of the table in one result. That could happen again next time we go out, so we’ll just be careful about how we think about it right now.”
But the Tyrone boss takes his side to Tuam Stadium buoyed by the defiant response which followed a disappointing defeat to Ulster rivals Monaghan.
With Healy Park unplayable, the Red Hands carved out a narrow win over the Kingdom in difficult conditions at Edendork, with Darren McCurry and Niall Morgan excelling on their home pitch, hitting ten points between them.
“You do expect that, but you don’t always get what you expect in life.
“We could have told ourselves we were going to go out and do that, and maybe not been able to achieve it
“The fact that they followed through on what they asked of themselves, that’s always very comforting to know that that kind of determination and steel is within a group of players.
“We have to keep our feet on the ground and say that every point has to be fought for until the bitter end. We needed those points and we’ve got them now, but they won’t keep us in Division One either.
“It is only a once-off, it doesn’t tell you that you’re going to be great across the season.
“It tells you that you can be great on any given day”.
