Philip Jordan says Tyrone desperately need to find new leaders in the wake of the retirements of Stephen O'Neill and Martin Penrose.

Writing in the Irish News, the former star half back says the younger players in the squad must assume responsibility rather than continue relying on the likes of Sean Cavanagh for leadership.

"In my last few years playing, I had reservations about the desire of some of the younger players. I wondered did they want to win as much as the veterans or were they just happy to be part of the set-up. I have yet to see those doubts erased," Jordan said.

"The qualifiers defeat to Armagh showed a soft centre amongst the players. When they were faced with an Armagh team putting them under severe pressure, the team stood back from the challenge. There was a clear lack of leadership.

"Everyone was looking to the likes of Sean Cavanagh and Stephen O'Neill to produce a piece of magic rather than taking on the responsibility themselves."

He continued: "I was part of a Tyrone team that suffered a similarly demoralising defeat against Sligo in 2002. We were accused of being soft, opposition teams targeted us physically, and we were found wanting.

"I remember after that match looking at the likes of Peter Canavan and Chris Lawn, who were utterly devastated at such an awful defeat. I think that loss made a lot of the younger fellas realise how tough senior county football was.

"Winning underage titles was great, but this was a totally different level we were playing at. As a Tyrone man, I hope the defeat to Armagh has a similar effect."

Tweet

Most Read Stories