Tyrone defender Frank Burns insists the Red Hands didn’t need the sight of a Kerry jersey to get them motivated for last weekend’s round five clash in O’Neills Healy Park.
The game was billed as a game that Tyrone could ill-afford to lose as they had picked up just two points from their first four outings.
That the All-Ireland champions were in town didn’t alter the fact that the home side badly needed a win to give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding relegation heading into the final two games later this month.
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After shipping a heavy 10-point defeat and conceding four goals against Mayo in Castlebar the previous weekend, Burns said Tyrone were determined to bounce back regardless of the opposition.
“We were sitting on two points so it didn’t matter who was coming here, we needed more points on the board,” stated Burns.
“It has been a tough week, we went back and dusted ourselves down (after the Mayo defeat).
"We just knew we’d no time to feel sorry for ourselves because it is a quick turnaround in the National League between games.
“I knew we had to dust ourselves down and be ready for Kerry coming.
“It is always a ding-dong battle between Tyrone and Kerry so we knew it was going to be no different.
“Of course we are happy with the result - Kerry are never easily beaten any day.
“We are happy, there’s smiles again on the faces of Tyrone people coming onto the field today - that’s what it is all about.”
Burns was one of a host of Tyrone players who delivered impressive performances in Omagh last Sunday as Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher’s men claimed a three-point win over the Kingdom.
Padraig Hampsey, Conor Meyler, Joe Oguz and Darragh Canavan also caught the eye while Mattie Donnelly was deservedly named Man-of-the-Match after kicking three points from play.
Tyrone now have four points and need at least one more victory in their final two games against Monaghan (away) and Armagh (home) and Burns believes there is room for further improvement as the League draws to a conclusion.
“We’re still not safe, we’re not celebrating yet. We got the win and that’s what we came here for,” added the Pomeroy native.
“We are out again in two weeks and we are far from safe still. It is all to play for.
“Two Ulster teams to finish - Ulster is probably the most competitive province there is.
“There’s going to be nothing easy. We’ll get back to training - there’s plenty of areas of improvement. That will be the focus going forward.”
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