Tyrone will relish playing us: James McCarthy

Wed, 8th February 2017

Dublin footballer James McCarthy is expecting Tyrone to come to Croke Park this Saturday with 'all guns blazing' for their NFL Division 1 clash with Jim Gavin's men (7.0).

Both counties opened their league accounts with victories last Sunday and there has been nothing between the sides in recent years in their meetings.

“They are a tough team to play against, they seemed like they were disappointed with how their year ended last year. I think they were expecting to do a bit better than they did, in the end they just got beaten by Mayo – and we know how good Mayo are,” says James.

“They are blooding a lot of new players, young, quick, hungry players. And the likes of Mattie Donnelly and Peter Harte are right up there, they are kind of driving them on. Tyrone don’t make things easy for you. I think they’ll be relishing playing us on Saturday and trying to knock us down.”

James was one of Dublin's most influential performers in last Sunday's victory in Breffni Park, kicking two points - one of either foot, as well as securing a lot of possession in the middle third and breaking forward with intent.

The Ballymun Kickhams man feels refreshed for the challenges ahead after a very hectic and successful 2016.

“We had two months off doing nothing, had the feet up and relaxing. We got a nice holiday in there too.

"Over the years we have learned that less is more at times. I’d be one of the worst at times, trying to do too much. I’ve learned over the years, train at the right times, train smarter and you just come in a lot fresher.

"We were all dying for games, we were hungry for it and we were happy enough how we got on at the weekend. It was a good start because it’s a tough place to go up there.”

Pictured above are Dublin's Ali Twomey, James McCarthy, Sinéad Aherne and Eoghan O’Donnell at Tuesday's AIG Insurance’s new home insurance offer launch which will give customers 12 months cover for the price of 10 plus all new car and home customers will receive a One4all voucher up to the value of €60. Go to www.aig.ie/dubs or call 1890 50 27 27 for a quote