By Tommy Nethery
IRRESPECTIVE of the part, if any, that ace marksman Stephen O'Neill will play in the 2008 All Ireland Final, one of this year's star performers insists the Tyrone squad should take great self-belief and confidence from their achievements in reaching the mother of all showdowns with Kerry next weekend.
As Tyrone fans had one final opportunity to meet their conquering heroes in Carrickmore last night (Wednesday) before Mickey Harte and his players retreat behind closed doors to make final preparations for the eagerly-awaited confrontation with the Kingdom, Philip Jordan said the class of 08 had proved the critics wrong.
"People have said that with Peter (Canavan), Stephen (O'Neill) and Chris Lawn gone we couldn't win an All Ireland, yet we are back in the final and hopefully we can prove the critics wrong again," said the Moy man, following the semi-final defeat of Wexford in which the half back was at his rampaging best in contributing three precious points.
"When the pressure was on against Wexford we stood up to be counted and kicked our points. In the forward line there has been no one man this year. When Sean Cavanagh was taken off injured people might have thought we would have struggled but two or three boys stepped up to the plate. Different people chipped in with scores."
As the countdown begins in earnest and speculation increases as to the role that Mickey Harte has up his sleeve for O'Neill in next Sunday's heavyweight shootout at Croke Park, Jordan said there was a hunger and desire back in the camp that perhaps wasn't as evident in previous years.
The left half back, who epitomised all that was good about Tyrone's accomplished performance against the Model County, breaking up the Slaneysiders' attacking play and charging forward to take important scores at a crucial time, said that the phenomenal work-rate which was a key component in the glorious triumphs of '03 and '05 was again back in vogue.
And the Dungannon-based accountant stressed that Tyrone, having gained confidence from the quarter-final annihilation of the Dubs and a character-building victory over Wexford, will hold no fears of facing the aristocrats of Gaelic football who are bidding for a remarkable three-in-a row at Headquarters in 10 days' time.
"Tyrone teams don't fear anyone," he added. "There is no point going out and playing with fear. It doesn't help anyone. Tyrone players want to play football. In the semi-final we demonstrated a tremendous work ethic and collective effort. We had defenders charging forward and picking off scores and forwards tracking back.
"We are working extremely hard as a team. We have taken a lot of stick for the so-called blanket defence but if hard work's going to bring us criticism then we'll be happy enough with that.
"We know if we work hard enough we are going to be a hard team to beat, no matter who we play."
The Red Hands' form has been patchy to say the least during their 2008 championship odyssey although Mickey Harte's men have been warming to the task as they progressed through the back-door route with victories over Louth, Westmeath and Mayo, that after being ousted from the Ulster Championship by Down in a thrilling replay.
The sensational performance that quite simply blew Dublin out of the water in the quarter-finals catapulted Tyrone into serious contention before the Red Hands brushed aside a gallant Wexford side with a rousing response in the closing moments of a thrilling semi-final clash.
According to Jordan, those displays in particular will serve Tyrone well in what should be an epic battle of Gaelic football's superpowers of the past decade on September 21.
"We needed to dig deep against Wexford to break up their attacking play when their tails were up. Our superior fitness showed in the end. We have worked hard on that this year. That's a good sign for us, that if we have to dig deep in the All Ireland Final we know we have the fitness to respond. The hard work has paid off. Hopefully we can go on and win the final."
Meanwhile reports filtering through from Kerry suggest that full forward Kieran Donaghy hasn't trained since the semi-final replay triumph over Cork because of an injured knee. It is being claimed that the towering target man with strong Tyrone connections may miss the final. On a more positive note for the Kingdom, team captain Paul Galvin is back in training having served a three month suspension.
