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This Tyrone can do back-to-back All-Ireland's | Brian McGuigan

Former Tyrone footballers Brian McGuigan and Ryan McMenamin joined Nathan Murphy to discuss Tyron...



This Tyrone can do back-to-bac...
Football

This Tyrone can do back-to-back All-Ireland's | Brian McGuigan

Former Tyrone footballers Brian McGuigan and Ryan McMenamin joined Nathan Murphy to discuss Tyrone's All-Ireland Final victory over Mayo and how this turns the page on their team of the naughties.

Tyrone's 2-14 to 0-15 victory over Mayo on Saturday gave Brian Dooher's side their first All-Ireland victory since 2008.

Dooher captained that 2008 team while McGuigan and McMenimen were his teammates.

McGuigan felt that this game was different to Tyrone's last appearance in an All-Ireland Final in 2018.

"Like a lot of Tyrone supporters in 2018, we were going down with hope rather than anything. We knew we were going against a great Dublin team and we honestly didn't give our boys much of a chance," McGuigan said.

"Coming into this final, I said during the week leading up I thought Tyrone were going to win by four or five points.

I just thought the players were better and they had a much stronger bench. The bench has been strong for Tyrone all year."

But it wasn't just the Mayo players who McGuigan thought the current Tyrone panel were better than. He also views this team as being notably better than his own panels that won three All-Ireland Finals during the naughties.

"I know we would have had good victories in the past...and the result was good we won the game, but maybe the way we played we weren't satisfied with. Now these players are winning and they're also putting in brilliant performances.

I think these players are well-equipped to do back-to-back, something we never could do.

This panel of players is much stronger than any panels we were ever in...certainly in my head I can't see anyone overtaking them next year."

In an unintentional ode to Lebron James' infamous speech, McGuigan believes those running Tyrone GAA are envisioning a run similar to that of Dublin from the last decade.

"There are people who have visions in Tyrone. The likes of Peter Canavan, Brian Dooher, Fergal Logan and even the county board, and more importantly the people who finance everything, they have visions of Tyrone climbing up that roll of honour. Over the next 20 years I am sure they want Tyrone to win the next 7,8, 9, 10 All-Irelands to climb up that ladder."

But even if those future successes don't come, this one victory will allow the county to move on from the team of the naughties.

"I'm sure the current players are so fed up of listening about them players and being compared to them players. Now they're up alongside those teams. They're every bit as good. We're so proud of them. The feeling in Tyrone this past two days, it's nearly the same feeling as when we won it the first time. 2008 isn't a long time but there are so many kids around here who have never experienced winning the All-Ireland."

McMenamin echoed McGuigan's sentiment about this team inspiring the youth of the county to look forward rather than back.

"It is about the kids...I think my own nephews, they associate me with Fermanagh football rather than Tyrone. It's absolutely great. For us seeing the boys win it and how it just sets off the next generation. I'm proud of them.

It closes the page on us and closes the page on the team of the noughties. Them boys are up there in their own right."

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