Niall Sludden has warned that Tyrone can’t afford to allow the momentum to slip now they have rediscovered a winning formula.
Sunday’s clash with Galway at Tuam takes the Red Hands to a venue that holds uncomfortable memories for the Red Hands, but the former All-Star sees an opportunity to claim two more League points and climb up the Division One table.
“We have things to still work on and improve on, and we’re looking forward to see can we keep going and keep it on an upward curve,” he said.
“The last game we went down to Connacht, we didn’t get the win, so this time we definitely want to be going down there and putting in a performance.”
The Tribesmen are looking for their first win of the campaign, but will take heart from their record against Tyrone at Tuam, where they cruised to a 19 points win on the last occasion the teams met there in 2020.
“We know it’s not going to be easy, obviously. They were in an All-Ireland final last year,” said Sludden.
Galway will be without injured talisman Damien Comer, but manager Padraic Joyce will be hoping to welcome back some of his key players for their first appearance of the season.
“Teams are now starting to get players back. They haven’t had their full hand, but I’m sure the week off will see them get players back.
“We know what to expect. We have been down in Tuam a couple of times and taken big batterings, so we really want to reverse that.”
This weekend’s tie is the first in a run of tough games for Tyrone, with a trip to Mayo followed by the visit of Kerry to Omagh, a sequence which could define the Red Hands’ League challenge.
“Brian and Feargal have said that these next couple of weeks are going to be massive, but that’s what you enjoy, the big challenge.
“We have got Galway, Mayo. Kerry, the All-Ireland champions. We know Mayo have always been there or thereabouts as well.
“It’s exciting, we know it’s going to be tough, but we’re looking forward to it, focusing on Galway first, and then take it from there.”
The players came in for some criticism following an opening day defeat to Roscommon, but Sludden was pleased with the response, a much improved display and a comprehensive victory over Ulster rivals Donegal.
“People were saying things from the outside, but we just concentrated on what was going on in the inside, training well, training hard.
“Certain things happened, there were a few turning points in the game, and that’s a thing across all the divisions.
“They’re tight games, and one day you can look really good, and the next day you might not look as good, so I think we’re long enough in the business to keep our feet on the ground, keep working.
“I thought we did a number of positive things. We were a lot more aggressive in the tackle, and even moving the ball that bit quicker as well.
“And we were a lot more physical around the middle.
“I know going down to Galway its always going to be a physical battle, so there were a lot of positives there.
“I know Donegal were a bit under-strength, so we don’t want to be getting too carried away.
“It’s one win out of two, so we still have a lot of improving to do.
“We knew that we needed a response after the last couple of games, so it was great to go out and do that.”
