Tyrone great Stephen O’Neill believes his county can beat Kerry in their All-Ireland semi-final clash on Saturday.
The 2005 Footballer of the Year, speaking at an AIB event this week, suggested that Tyrone would be looking for a big improvement on their quarter-final victory against Dublin that could push them over the line.
“I think Tyrone are going to do it. Watching the Dublin game, I said, ‘whoever manages to come out on top in this game is going to go into the semi-final in a really good way’. Thankfully, Tyrone managed to finish really strong and get a flurry of scores.
“I thought they’d a lot of mistakes in the Dublin game, so I’m sure the Tyrone lads will want to address that. I’m hoping that, along with Kerry maybe not being able to produce what they did against Armagh, will hopefully get us across the line.”
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Two-pointers were key for Tyrone in the quarters and O’Neill believes that they could play a big role in the semi-final.
“Tyrone are blessed to have people like Peter Harte, Mattie Donnelly, boys who’ve experience and have the skill set that can produce those type of shots. Tyrone will definitely get pressed out [in defence] and not let people, especially Sean O’Shea and Clifford get shots from that far out.”
Having beaten Kerry this season en route to under-20 and minor All-Ireland successes, Tyrone have enjoyed another stellar year of underage success.
O’Neill says it bodes well for the future in the county, but is also mindful that underage titles don’t always translate into silverware at senior level.
“People are asking, what is the secret? I think it’s just the drive within the clubs in Tyrone. The underage talent has been there for the last 15-20 years. Tyrone have probably been the most successful county over that period of time.
“But it’s a big step getting from under-20 to play senior football; even under-20 into senior club football is a big step, so to step up to senior county football is another massive leap for players. It’s hard sometimes to get that talent to come through.”
Under-20 forward Eoin McElholm has been particularly impressive, and notched a fantastic point off the bench in the quarter-final, skinning Ciarán Kilkenny and popping it over off his right foot.
Despite discussion of whether he could start on the weekend, O’Neill believes that the youngster would deliver a bigger impact off the bench.
“I feel Malachy [O’Rourke] is probably using him the best way. Somebody as explosive as Eoin is, he’s just such an asset to have in the last 15, 20 minutes of a game. A player like that, he’ll not be a super-sub for too much longer because he’s an exceptional talent.
“Any team over the last 10, 15, 20 years, they’ve needed a strong bench to compete. Seeing him coming on, as a defender, would be your worst nightmare, knowing that he’s just lining you up, he’s going to take you on.”
The former Tyrone forward had been working under Raymond Galligan as a forward’s coach for Cavan for the previous two seasons.
With Galligan announcing his departure from the role this week, O’Neill reckons the county is well set up to continue developing in the next few years.
“I enjoyed my time with Cavan, Raymond Galligan is a lovely fella, we had a great two years. The county developed, and were within the kick of a ball of getting into Division One this year. It’s a job that a lot of people would be vying for. I think Cavan’s in a very healthy state.”
However, he said that he had not put too much thought into moving into intercounty management himself, despite having coached with Cavan, Antrim and Tyrone.
“People phone you and ask you about certain things, clubs, jobs and things like that. You just have to take it what way it comes and what might interest you. I haven’t really given it much thought, to tell you the truth. I’ll just enjoy the summer now and the time off after a busy eight months.”
