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Tomás Ó Sé rows back on his long held opinions of Mickey Harte

On Saturday afternoon, Mayo and Tyrone will renew a rivalry which illuminated the 2004 seaso...



Tomás Ó Sé rows back on his lo...
Soccer

Tomás Ó Sé rows back on his long held opinions of Mickey Harte

On Saturday afternoon, Mayo and Tyrone will renew a rivalry which illuminated the 2004 season.

Tyrone were motoring on a first All-Ireland title the previous year with a second title at their mercy. But in a major upset, Mayo outclassed them in the semi-final and stole a four point win with Ciaran McDonald putting on an exhibition of scoring.

Speaking on Off The Ball earlier in the week, David Brady recalled how the team drew motivation from the disrespect they felt when they heard that Tyrone roared with delight upon discovering that Mayo were their opponents in the semi-finals.

John Maughan apparently repeated "How dare they" to the group, which incited a sense of rage that culminated in that fine display in Croke Park.

And according to multi-All-Ireland winning player Tomás Ó Sé, he harboured a lot of disdain for that Tyrone team as well. In his column this weekend, Ó Sé admits that he often slipped off to another room whenever he was in their company at award nights.

Things mellowed in 2005 when the former Kerry defender bonded with the Tyrone contingent over a few casual beverages, during the International Rules campaign. 

And over a decade later, Ó Sé is ready to admit that he would have to have had Mickey Harte as a mentor.

"If you were to ask me right now, I'd love to have played for Mickey Harte. I looked at the video of him coming into the Tyrone dressing room with the Anglo Celt Cup after the Ulster final, and the room just erupts.

"And one lad turns Mickey's hat backwards like he was a rapper. I can't imagine how Mickey gets through to his current team of young fellas. They must be so different to the young Tyrone lads he started out with back in the 1990s. But he does. And in that clip, their respect for him is absolute but the affection is genuine."

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