The Tyrone managerial team have made no secret of the fact that they are concentrating their efforts on a successful Rackard Cup campaign. However, with Monaghan completing the three team section, Tyrone face a very challenging time before even contemplating the knock out stages.
Preparations haven't run according to plan, but manager Kevin McNaughton remains optimistic about mounting a strong challenge.
"To be honest our preparations have been poor. We decided to arrange challenge games rather than training in an effort to get players out. We played Antrim minors, but a planned fixture against Ballygalget failed to materialise because we hadn't enough players" he said.
McNaughton believes Tyrone have the qualities needed to compete, but the team need to put more effort in.
"There's no doubting Tyrone's ability as a team, but the players need to put more effort in. This is an All-Ireland Championship and there's a big incentive for winning it.
"Donegal will be a very tough opening game. They depend on players like Kevin Campbell and Jamesie Donnelly, but with a full squad I would fancy our chances. We are technically as good as Donegal, and if we can reduce the amount of frees that we concede then their scoring power is restricted."
For Tyrone to make the quarter-finals they have to win one of their two group games and McNaughton is hopeful that his team can build up a head of steam by delivering a strong performance this weekend.
"Donegal are a stronger team than us so we will have to use the ball quickly to stand a chance. We can't afford to get bogged down in a physical battle because that will suit them. They beat us in the league because of their strength in key areas, but we didn't deserve to lose that game by such a margin. If we use quick ball I think our pace will cause them problems" he concluded.
Tyrone lost that February League meeting 1-17 to 1-10 despite hurling well for long periods, but with players such as Justin Kelly, Conor Gallagher, Stephen Donnelly and Shea McKiver on board, they can end a long losing run to their North West rivals.




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