By Barry O’Donnell

THE New Year chimes will have barely faded by the time Tyrone take to the field on Friday night for their first competitive outing of 2026, a short trip to the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds to tackle Armagh in the relaunched Dr McKenna Cup.

The Red Hands will hope that this January 2 fixture will act as an encouraging launchpad for an action-packed and memorable full on seven months that culminates in an appearance in the All-Ireland final at the backend of July.

If that is to be the case, then expect a sprinkling of the stars of Tyrone’s back-to-back All-Ireland winning minor squads from 2024/25 to feature significantly as the season narrative unfolds.

Certainly Tyrone senior manager Malachy O’Rourke has been impressed with the young guns he has introduced into the county fold on the cusp of another marathon inter-county campaign.

“The biggest thing that I see about those young players coming through is the attitude they have. It would be easy to think having won so much at underage level that we have nothing left to learn but they are mad keen to learn. They are hungry, ambitious and humble, so it is a great mix. I have no doubt they will develop over the next few years into serious inter-county players.

“But they have to be given time as well. We can’t expect them to suddenly become top class inter-county players. We have to allow them to find their feet and develop physically and mentally.”

At the other end of the playing spectrum, O’Rourke acknowledged that the future plans of loyal servant and his fellow Errigal Ciaran clubman Peter Harte still hung in the balance, with retirement a distinct possibility at this juncture.

“Petey hasn’t come back yet and I suppose he will be able to answer that question for himself.

“It might be a bit more difficult for Petey coming back but the door will always be open.

“Boys like Petey have done so much for the county over the years and is such a role model and experienced player to have. We would love to have him back but that will become clear.”

As O’Rourke prepares for his second season at the helm in the Red Hand County, he admits that overall his first year was fairly mixed in terms of results and performances, but he was keen to see the side embark on an upward climb in 2026.

“We had to just hold our hands up and say there are a lot of areas we need to improve on. That is the challenge for this year.

“We have brought in a number of different lads into the panel. They are working hard at the minute and really looking forward to the year ahead.”