BY BARRY O'DONNELL
THE glass remains half-full, rather than half-empty as far as Tyrone are concerned, the camp still bullish about their prospects of featuring in the shake-up at the top end of the table rather than casting an anxious glance over their shoulders at the relegation zone.
The laboured two point triumph over wasteful Limerick at the sunlit Gaelic Grounds last weekend has surely ruled out the nightmare scenario of dropping two echelons into Division 3 for next season, the harsh fate awaiting the bottom two sides in Division 1A. Either Limerick or Cork will join already doomed Fermanagh in propping up the table when everything is wrapped up come Easter time.
However with the fifth and sixth placed finishers also facing relegation to Division 2 for the revamped NFL 2008 season then there's no such thing as mid-table security this term.
Tyrone, currently occupying fifth place, are naturally talking up their chances of clinching runners-up spot behind runaway leaders Donegal and with it a semi-final berth, but in truth with just two matches remaining, they will be quietly satisfied just to end up in the top four and guarantee their top flight status for next year.
The Red Hands can go a long way towards attaining that objective, and preserving their remote league title aspirations in the process, by taking the spoils against Kerry in Tralee on Saturday night.
Seeing-off the reigning All-Ireland champions in their own back yard will be a monumental task for the visitors, especially given their indifferent form of late. The Kingdom may have lost to buoyant Donegal last Sunday but there was a lot more zest and enterprise to their play, even in defeat, than was served up by a pedestrian and error-strewn Tyrone against Limerick.
Kerry will also be desperately determined to put one over on the northerners who have got the better of their skirmishes of late, most significantly the All-Ireland Final of 2005. It's hard to imagine the Kingdom attack, despite the absence of Colm Cooper (on All-Ireland club duty with Dr Crokes) and the injured Kieran Donaghy (fractured collarbone), being as limited and toothless as Limerick were last weekend.
The Treaty men dominated the possession stakes for long periods of a dour encounter but a derisory statistic of eighteen wides is a criminal number for any inter-county forward unit to rack up and the Red Hands were probably fortunate not to be up against one of the country's premier forces on the day, otherwise a hat-trick of losses could have been recorded.
After those morale sapping setbacks at the hands of Cork and Donegal, Tyrone are clearly still scratching around to rediscover the panache and confidence with which they started out 2007, but an away win, no matter how scrappy, should help set them on the road to recovery.
Ace attacker Stephen O'Neill is one of the key Tyrone stars still looking to recapture the form that mark him out as one of the country's leading marksmen on his day. He admits that last weekend's contest was something of a grind but was just relieved to get back on track.
"It was important just to get the two points. We haven't been playing well this last couple of games so the victory was the main thing. Limerick made it hard for us. They were strong in the tackle and had some big men around the middle who could win a lot of ball for them.
"They might have won if they hadn't hit quite so many wides. We were lucky enough in that regard and thankfully held on but we still have an awful lot to work on if we are to make an impression this season."
Manager Micky Harte will obviously be concerned at the number of shortcomings exhibited in recent outings, particularly around centre field, where they have been comprehensively outmanned and outfought over the last month. He will though be pleased with the desire and commitment shown at the Gaelic Grounds, despite the general lack of fluency and cohesion.
There's clearly nothing wrong with the players attitude and O'Neill explained that the mood at recent training get-togethers remains positive.
"We were disappointed after the last couple of games. No one could really hold their hands up and say they played well. But we have knuckled down to it at training over the last fortnight, all the boys remain positive, and we will have to carry that on now into the Kerry match. It's a matter of keeping our heads down and working hard."
The Clann na nGael shooting star has plenty of fond recollections of recent clashes with Kerry but he feels that the Munster giants desire for revenge after losing both the 2005 Sam Maguire showdown as well as last season's league meeting in Omagh, will have little bearing on Saturday evening's latest clash.
"Kerry lost to Donegal so they will be hungry for league points just as much as us. We're both now on six points and a bit off the pace. I'd say that priority will weigh heavier on their minds than what has happened the last couple of times they've played Tyrone.
" It's going to be a big game, it always is anytime we play Kerry, and with the two teams needing the points, there will be an extra edge to it."
Defeat for either of the protagonists in Tralee will leave them hovering precariously over the Division 2 relegation trapdoor, an unthinkable prospect for one of the country's big hitters to fathom. Stevie however preferred to focus on the benefits of a positive outcome for the visiting Red Hands.
"We're definitely looking to get into the top two, at the very least the top four. We have two tough games coming up, Kerry away and then Mayo at home, who we've had problems with before in the league and championship.
" We'll have to work hard to get anything from them but if we do then I'd be confident we'll finish up in a healthy enough position in the table.
"It will be an uphill battle but because of the two losses we knew our fate would come right down to the wire anyway."
