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Owen Mulligan with his Tyrone manager Mickey Harte. INPHO/Donall Farmer
Championship 2012

Mulligan: "We have to apologise to the Tyrone fans"

They were decisively beaten in Killarney on Saturday and the Tyrone camp have put their hands up to accept that after they have exited the 2012 All-Ireland championship race.

TYRONE FORWARD OWEN Mulligan has apologised to the county’s supporters in the wake of their All-Ireland championship loss to Kerry last Saturday.

The Red Hands crashed to a ten-point defeat in Fitzgerald Stadium which marked the end of their 2012 campaign and after their below-par display, the attacker felt that the fans who had travelled to Killarney for the game deserved an apology.

“It’s painful as we came into this game thinking we would beat Kerry but we were second to every ball and they were probably hungrier,” Mulligan told TheScore.ie. “We thought this was going to kickstart our year but instead it has kickstarted Kerry’s year and good luck to them. We have to apologise to the Tyrone fans coming down and we didn’t play the way we should have so big apologies to them.

“We hold our hands up, the better team won. They seemed more up for it, which maybe was to be expected after they hadn’t beaten us in the championship in years. Fair play to them. Kerry were the better side, they got their tactics right, marked the right men and it was very hard to break them down. Some of their players were outstanding. It’s not as if we didn’t turn up, we weren’t allowed to play so no complaints.”

Tyrone boss Mickey Harte admitted that his side are in a transitional phase but is hopeful that they will be helped by playing their league football in Division 1 next year.

“We’re at the drawing board. Our drawing board has been inaction this last year and a half. It is a team in transition. There are a lot of new and younger faces being phased in. We are now in Division 1 and we probably need to be playing a season in Division 1 football to get these young playersto discover exactly what’s required to win games at this level. I think we’re still a formidable outfit and we can hold our own against a lot of teams.

On the issue of potential player retirements from his squad, Harte believes it is up to individuals themselves to make that call.

“People always talk about that at the end of a season. I say at time like this, it’s time for people to take stock of where they are as individuals, see where it fits into their life and how much energy theyhave to give to this again after years and years of doing it. We never ever push anybody out of here. Quality players have given us great ervice over the years. I think they deserve to be the ones who make the decisions themselves.”

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Talking Points: Kerry 1-16 Tyrone 1-6, All-Ireland SFC qualifier