McShane hopes to make an impact

THE Tyrone hurlers have enlisted one of the most high-profile managers in Ulster, namely Michael McShane (pictured).

He’s steered Sleacht Néill to three of the last four Ulster Club Championship titles, so it’ll be interesting to see what impact he can make with a county team.
He’s also bringing with him a strong backroom team, including Ballycastle clubmate Stephen McGarry, and strength and conditioning specialist Tommy Stevenson.
There’s a Tyrone touch as well as Dungannon’s John Devlin and Carrickmore’s Plunkett McCallan are also on board as selectors.
Speaking to Gaelic Life last week, McShane said he’s encouraged by his players’ commitment to their individual programmes, but he said he couldn’t fully assess their capabilities until the return to collective training.

Tyrone have been there or thereabouts in Division 3A for the last few years.
Therefore, the obvious target for new manager Michael McShane is to steer the side to promotion.
There’s no league finals this year, so they’ll need to finish top of the group if they’re to do so.
It’s a perfectly achievable target, and could hinge on a crunch tie against Armagh, who lost last year’s league final.
As for the championship, they’ll be quietly hopeful of making their mark in the Nickey Rackard Cup as well. Expect a decent season from the Tyrone hurlers.