LEE Brennan says he wouldn’t rule out a return to the Tyrone set-up in the future – but says his first love will always be Trillick.
The 2015 All-Ireland U21 winning forward helped his club overcome Crossmaglen in last weekend’s Ulster quarter-final as they now prepare for a crack at Monaghan champions Scotstown who toppled a fancied Kilcoo side.
Brennan had to bide his time against ‘Cross before he sent over a wonderful effort towards the end of a low-scoring game.
Despite being one of the hottest tickets on the club scene, the attacker endured quite a frustrating inter-county career.
He left the Tyrone squad in 2019 due to a lack of game-time and although he returned under Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher – two men whom he played under at U21 level – he left again for the same reason after the Red Hands won the All-Ireland in 2021.
“You obviously miss training at a high level,” he said.
“It’s nearly professional now, but all I want to do is play football. If they didn’t see I was good enough to play county, that’s fine.
“I’m happy. I love playing for Trillick. It’s what I wanted to do. When you’re away and you’re missing starred games and missing playing for your club week in week out, all I want to do is play football.”
Trillick's Lee Brennan scores a glorious point, featuring a delightful dummy. pic.twitter.com/YmbSqbPRVC
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) November 11, 2023
Asked if he would have another nibble at inter-county football, Brennan replied: “Who knows.”
As with all quality inside forwards, Brennan’s greatest assets are his patience and resilience.
He didn’t receive a lot of ball during Trillick’s 0-9 to 0-4 win over Crossmaglen, but the supply he got, he made it count.
“You just have to be patient and when the opportunities come, you have to take them. I suppose it’s like anything in life – if you want something, you have to be patient and put in the work for it and you have to keep moving the whole time, try to create space in areas where you think you can do damage and when the ball comes to you, you try your best.
“I’ve tried to work on my ball play out the field and contribute to the game more. It’s not just an inside forward game anymore. You could see 15 of us behind the ball and 15 of us attacking – defenders and midfielders scoring; everybody has to do the job of a forward and a defender.”
Jody Gormley has instilled an insatiable work ethic in the squad since taking over his home club and leading them to the county title this season after an epic final battle with Errigal Ciaran.
Brennan is a huge fan of the former county ace.
“Jody’s impact on this group has been unbelievable,” he said.
“He’s very intelligent and tactically aware. No matter what your calibre is, everybody has to put in the work if you want to play in this team.”
Scotstown would have noted Trillick’s second-half revival in Omagh on Saturday night, coming from 0-4 to 0-2 down at the break to hit seven unanswered points.
“We knew at half-time that we needed to be braver and to run at them as hard as we could and if we create scoring opportunities, they’ll pull us down and win frees. We definitely threw the shackles off in the second half and just went for it.”
