THE DEBATE CONTINUES to rage over the value of the Super 8s in Gaelic football but Tyrone boss Mickey Harte is pleased that the previous knockout quarter-final format is no longer in operation.
Harte saw his Tyrone side lose out to Dublin in Omagh yesterday but they were already assured of an All-Ireland semi-final showing and will contest against Kerry next Sunday.
Two years into the experimentation with this new competition, Harte is able to assess it after Tyrone have been involved in both campaigns. The All-Ireland winning boss has spoken out on in the past about the imbalance before facing provincial champions in last eight ties.
“I’ve always been a fan of not having the old style quarter-finals where provincial champions could fall on their sword in one day. I never thought that to be fair.
“I had various permutations to make it different but nobody ever listened to me, so the Super 8s is the thing that came up here and I’m happier because you get a chance to be beaten and still stay in the competition. So I’m all for that opportunity but I think there could be better ways of making it happen.”
Harte and Tyrone have little time to dwell on yesterday’s game with an All-Ireland semi-final tie looming large next Sunday.
Having to endure a swift turnaround is a challenge facing all four semi-finalists after they were in action this weekend. Harte feels there could be more room granted to teams while pointing out the complexity of fixing the GAA calendar.
“Well it’s the big picture again, we can all fix something in one competition or for one set of teams but to fix it for everything, football and hurling, I understand all the difficulties in getting it perfectly right.
“But it seems a bit quick of a turnaround from your last qualifier, Super 8, quarter-final, call it what you will, to have to go out within six or seven days again. It does seem like something better can be done there but I would hope people would be reflecting on that and trying to do something about it.”
Harte rejected suggestions that yesterday’s match was a futile exercise despite both managers making wholesale changes.
“Did people not come along here in droves and enjoy that or were they bored out of their head watching that game? It was interesting for the people who were there, the players didn’t show any sign of ‘I wish we weren’t here’ or ‘this is no big significant game’ they gave it all they had and I think that’s lovely on a summer day in Omagh to see 15,000 people here. I enjoyed that game today, even if I didn’t enjoy the outcome.
“Obviously we have been on the road for five weeks and most of our players have played most of that game time so it was an opportunity to give them a rest and to give the players who had been looking for more game time during that run; ‘here’s you chance, against the top team in the country. If you are on the road five weeks in a row, in must-win games, that is challenging physically and mentally on your players.”
Next up Tyrone will renew acquaintances with Kerry, four years after their last championship clash.
“Kerry are still the top team in the country as far as the Sam Maguire is concerned,” stated Harte.
“They always have their eye on that and people always expect them to be big contenders for that and they seldom let people down. It is a big battle and we have to bring our best game and if we bring our best game we believe we can make it a very competitive game and then who knows who might win.”
