NEWLY crowned All-Ireland Masters champions Tyrone are already preparing the groundwork for a three-in-a-row bid next year.
A raft of new recruits, including former county stars who are on the verge of turning 40, are being lined up to join the squad in 2023.
The Red Hands retained their title with a one point win over Dublin in an extra-time time thriller at Ballinagh at the weekend, with former Footballer of the Year Stephen O’Neill turning in a man of the match performance.
“We are now going to go for three in a row, and I have no doubt that this team can do it,” said Joe Leonard, a member of the four-man management team.
“We have already recruited extra men for next year, ex-county men that we’re going to look about getting into the panel for 2023.
“And if we can get them in, we’ll be pushing for three in a row, and we’re going to make sure that we put our stamp on Masters football.”
Tyrone had to dig deep to claw their way back into a tense decider that saw the Dubs lead for much of the contest.
“That was an hour and a half of football that was unreal. Our boys were down three times and we came back from the death three times.
“We showed them that we weren’t going to go down without fighting, and those fellows played their hearts out for us. It was unbelievable.”
Even after the dismissal of Denis Bastick, the Leinster men posed a major attacking threat, striking for a goal straight after the former Dublin midfielder was shown a straight red card just seconds into his substitute appearance.
“We made the mistake, we gave them the goal and we gave them a few points as well. It we hadn’t made those mistakes it would have been more comfortable.
“We knew Dublin were going to come at us, they were determined to get back at us, but I had been saying all week that as long as we could keep our heads, we would win it,” said Leonard, now in his 33rd year of involvement in the Masters game as player and manager.
He lauded the dedication of the players in their commitment to training and diligent preparation for games since the squad came together in the springtime.
“Fair play to the fellows, they have worked hard and they have killed themselves. That’s five and a half months of hard work.
“And if anybody watched that game on live streaming, and tell me it’s a Mickey Mouse sport, it’s time they were looking at something else.”
And Leonard had no doubt that the Dr Mick Loftus Cup would be staying in Tyrone once they went ahead in extra-time.
“I knew that if we could get in front in extra-time, they were going to have to work twice as hard to get back at us.
“Fair play to them, they went up and got a point, but once we got possession of the ball and kept the ball, we were never going to lose it.
“I hope that we get the credit that we are entitled to now. Within our own county we have got the credit, and we got great coverage in the media, and that’s why we had so many Tyrone people at the game backing us up. And that’s what helped us in the last five minutes.”
