Tyrone defender Ryan McMenamin believes that his side's run all the way to the last four of the All-Ireland SFC has highlighted a flaw in the provincial championships. Mickey Harte's side made their exit from this year's Ulster SFC after losing out to Down in a semi-final replay at Newry and McMenamin has pointed out that the Red Hands' progress to the semi-finals of the All-Ireland calls the status of the provincial championships into question. "It probably calls into question the provincials - are they worth it or not," said McMenamin. "It's a gruelling route to take but that is the route that we have to take so there is no point in complaining about it. That's the way the system works and you make the best of it. I would say that there will be a lot more people looking for tickets now. If you were up around Tyrone after the Down game I would say that we were not the most popular people around and Mickey took a lot of criticism as well." After the Down deafeat Mickey Harte had came under much criticism as Tyrone looked to be a side in decline since their last All-Ireland triumph. Now back in the semi-finals after a three-year wait, McMenamin believes it will all be for nothing unless Tyrone can over come Wexford in just under two weeks time. "We knew that we had gone back. We knew that we were a different team than 2005 but 2005 is long gone and it's 2008 now. The talk went on but that talk has been there for the last two or three years. Tweet

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