Joe Brolly believes now would be a good time for Mickey Harte to step down as Tyrone manager.

The outspoken Derryman has been critical of the style of football played by the Red Hands in recent years, but he gives Harte credit for instructing his players to go “man-to-man” with Dublin in last Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC final.

“My own view is that Mickey should now step down. He can go now with honour,” Brolly wrote in his Derry Journal column this week.

“The truth is that since the great team of the noughties his approach to management has been entirely reactive. He reacted to serial defeats by Jimmy McGuinness by copying Jimmy without knowing how to do it properly.

“He sleep-walked into an utter humiliation against Dublin last August, then reacted by not reacting at all, instead blaming isolate even in that game for the defeat. Even after Monaghan took them to school in Ulster this year, taking their zonal defence to pieces, he persisted with the zonal defence.

“Imagine the lift it would give this great county if Peter Canavan or Fergal Logan came in, with the superb Peter Donnelly remaining as trainer,” he added.

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