By Barry O'Donnell

GREATER light should be shed on Tyrone's claims to be regarded as legitimate Championship contenders come teatime this Sunday.

The Red Hands begin their Anglo-Celt Cup defence at home to unfancied Down this weekend at a jam-packed Healy Park, with uncertainty surrounding their ability to launch a realistic bid for a third All-Ireland title.

For the most part since the turn of the Millennium, the race for 'Sam' has been regarded as a three-horse race between Armagh, Kerry and Tyrone, but the general perception over the last couple of seasons is that the two great Ulster rivals have drifted back into the pack, leaving the mighty Kingdom way ahead of the field.

Indeed most pundits now rank Micky Harte's charges as number five or six in the list of potential champions, having been usurped by the likes of Dublin, Cork and Derry.

Sunday though provides an ideal opportunity to send out an emphatic message to the rest of the country. Certainly unlike previous seasons there has been no great hype or hoopla surrounding the side's entrance onto the Championship stage but the squad will be content enough to drift along under the radar just now.

After another indifferent league campaign, and the whole saga of Stephen O'Neill's high-profile retirement, Tyrone endured an inauspicious winter/spring campaign, but there are nevertheless reasons to be optimistic approaching a new Ulster Championship assault.

The litany of injuries which have plagued the county camp since they last lifted the All-Ireland in September '05 seem at last to be abating, inspirational figures such as Brian Dooher and Brian McGuigan now back in the fold.

Question marks of course will surround their capacity to last a full seventy minutes of no-holds barred, rugged inter-county Championship fare, but their presence alone greatly bolsters Harte's options.

Add in the experience and pedigree of other seasoned campaigners like Sean Cavanagh, Ryan McMenamin, Davy Harte, Collie Holmes, Kevin Hughes, Conor Gormley, Philip Jordan and Owen Mulligan (if fit), and there's no reason to doubt Tyrone's potential to face up to any obstacle- especially within their own province.

However there are areas of vulnerability on the field, which were exposed several times during the league, and may yet come back to haunt them further down the line unless rectified.

The seemingly perennial full-back problem has still to be properly addressed, and with Mourne marauder Benny Coulter lying in wait this weekend, it's a sector of the pitch in which Tyrone will face another stern examination, whoever the personnel deployed.

Elsewhere Tyrone have yet to settle on an established midfield partnership, unlike one or two other top ranked counties, and question marks still surround their ability to fill the void created in attack by the prolific O'Neill's departure.

Indeed a more thorough examination of their scoring return since 2005 would suggest that they have never really placed Peter the Great despite the annexing of another provincial title last term.

Who is going to chip in with seven or eight points, and the odd goal, in each outing?

Throughout the McKenna Cup and League Tyrone struggled for consistency and the cloak of invincibility which seemed to engulf them for a number of years has been removed. Morale-sapping defeats by Laois and Meath (hardly live-wire contenders for Sam) extinguished the Red Hands All-Ireland aspirations in '06 and '07 respectively, and aside from the crushing demolition of Donegal in last year's Ulster semi-final, it's hard to remember too many top drawer Tyrone performances since September '05.

However whatever about the potential flaws in the hosts make-up, it would nevertheless represent a stunning upset should visitors Down put them to the sword in Omagh.

The Red Hands supposed weaknesses must be measured against the very top echelon in the country, and sadly for the away side this weekend they no longer sit comfortably in that category.

Ross Carr's charges started the year with a bang, hammering Derry in the McKenna Cup decider, but after that their season began to unravel. And failure to gain promotion from a distinctly mediocre Division Three, allied to the sideline bans imposed on both manager Carr and his assistant DJ Kane, means they have endured a far from smooth build-up to the Healy Park showdown.

Another encouraging omen for the home side is that the last Championship meeting between the two counties was three years ago, in 2005. It was also the opening round tie played at Omagh where substitute Peter Canavan inspired the hosts to a pretty facile 1-13 to 1-6 triumph.

It was of course the first of Tyrone's ten unforgettable steps to All-Ireland glory, and they'll be desperate to use a victory this Sunday against the Mourne men as a platform for another glorious season.

Down wrapped up their preparations with a bizarre behind closed doors challenge game with Cork last week when a couple of inquisitive reports were frog-marched out of Pairc Esler. The Rebels edged the verdict but by all accounts the likes of Liam Doyle, Ronan Murtagh and Paul McComiskey looked quite sharp in attack for the Mourne men.

Benny Coulter and Daniel Hughes are currently on the injured list for boss Ross Carr, while attacker James McGovern is almost certain to miss out the encounter in Healy Park after tearing a quad muscle during a training session.

The Burren clubman is said to be out for at least month due to the injury, while Coulter and Doyle have been struggling for almost three weeks now and are thought to have a 50/50 chance playing against the Red Hands.

Hughes injured his ankle while playing in a challenge game against Monaghan two weeks ago but the Queen's ace is supposed to be more likely to play a part in Omagh.

In defence, Darren O'Hanlon, Declan Rooney and youngster Ciaran McGovern are all ruled out of the Tyrone clash due to long-term injuries.

With the disappointment of the NFL behind them Down must now pick up the pieces and look forward to the meeting with Tyrone. Ross Carr gave the county squad a break after the league he has been reportedly pleased with their positive reaction since their return to training.

Carr, like his predecessor Parry O'Rourke, is desperately striving to rekindle the glory days for the red and blacks, yet while their wonderful Championship pedigree and track record demands respect, the stone cold reality of the situation is that they could well be the worst team in Ulster, bar Antrim right now.

The current manager Carr was actually the star of the show when Down last defeated Tyrone in the Ulster Championship almost exactly ten years ago on a swelteringly hot day at Healy Park in 1998.

A similar outcome this time would surely have most pundits penning the obituaries marking the end of Tyrone's glory days once and for all. It's more likely though that the nay-sayers might have to wait a little longer.