THEY ARE MOST dangerous when their backs are against the wall but Stephen O’Neill says Tyrone don’t need a siege mentality to raise their game for the All-Ireland semi-final against Mayo.
Not for the first time, Mickey Harte’s men found themselves in the eye of a storm and labelled as ‘dirty’ and ‘cynical’ following their victory in the quarter-finals against Monaghan.
The fall-out from the game reached its height with Joe Brolly’s stinging attack on Sean Cavanagh and the cloud of negativity was so thick that county officials took the unusual step of distributing a list of ‘facts’ to the national media last week, with stats to show that they are the ones being fouled rather than the other way around.
“There always seems to be a negative feeling towards Tyrone,” O’Neill said. “Maybe comments made about certain players and certain styles of play.
“It was there in the past but, listen, we’re not too worried. We’re more focused on the game because I think it’s important to get focused because we don’t want to go out and have a scoreline like Mayo had against Donegal. Nobody wants to get beat by that much.
“We’re just concentrating on one thing. What’s out there in the general public and the media is a completely different thing.”
At this stage of the summer, O’Neill continued, there’s no need to circle the wagons in a bid to spur players on and try to give them an extra edge.
Being 70 minutes away from another All-Ireland final is all the motivation they should need.
People will say that’s what’s going to happen but I think it’s a bad thing to be using that as motivation at this stage of the year.If you have to use a thing like a ‘them and us’ situation to go out in an All-Ireland semi-final, it’s a bad thing.
Everybody in our panel is motivated to do well and to try and get through to an All-Ireland final.
Forward Martin Penrose is suspended for Sunday’s game after he failed in a bid to have his suspension for a straight red card overturned but Conor Gormley is free to play after he convinced the Central Hearings Committee (CHC) to quash the proposed ban for his involvement in the same incident with Monaghan’s Dessie Mone.
The spotlight though has fallen firmly on Cavanagh who was berated by Brolly on live television in the minutes after the game.
Has he been affected by the storm of the last few weeks?
“No, I don’t think so,” O’Neill said. “I’ve played with Sean for the last 10, 12 years and, knowing the man, it won’t faze him one bit.
“He’s been a brilliant servant for Tyrone. He’s a complete gentleman, on and off the pitch.
“I’ve played against him in club games and you couldn’t get a nicer fella.
“There’ll be no hassle that way. Sean is completely focused on his football and, if he keeps going the way he’s going, we’ll be very happy with him.”
Still, with such a widespread assumption that Tyrone are experts in cyncism, are they worried that referees will be influenced?
“When people are sitting in TV studios and in front of an audience of maybe a million people, they have a big influence.
“I suppose they’re depending on these pundits for good analysis. They make general statements with very little evidence to back them up.
People will believe that so you would be worried that it could happen, that there’s a general perception out there that Tyrone are a dirty, cynical team.We’re definitely not. I’ve played under Mickey Harte since ’97 and I’ve never been coached any cynicism.
He tells you to go out and express yourself, to work hard for the team and do yourself, your family and your county proud.
That was Mickey’s message back then, and it’s the same now.
33 in November, and with three All-Ireland titles and three All-Stars in his back pocket, O’Neill has already been here and seen it all. But no matter how unlikely the prospect seemed when Tyrone were beaten in Ballybofey back at the end of May, there’s no question of him being happy with a place in the semi-finals.
Now, as always, success is defined by medals.
“If you want to be successful you want to win something. There’s no point in getting to a semi-final or a quarter-final, there’s no medals there.
“Like any player, it doesn’t matter what age you are, if you don’t get to the final and get a medal it’s not a successful season.
“You ask the Mayo lads from last year if it was a successful season, winning a Connacht title and losing an All-Ireland final, and they’ll tell you the opposite probably.
“It’s about getting to the final. Any player will tell you that.”
