Tyrone hurling manager Mickey McShane insists his side won’t be getting ahead of themselves as they prepare for their penultimate Division 3A game against Monaghan in Inniskeen on Sunday.
The Red Hands are at the top of the table thanks to last weekend’s impressive 2-21 to 1-14 victory over Armagh in Carrickmore.
Rory Weir’s goal helped the hosts to a 1-10 to 0-7 lead at the break and a 13-point haul from key attacker Damian Casey saw Tyrone run out comfortable winners.
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The top side in the group will qualify for the Division 3A final with the next two teams going head-to-head in the semi-final.
Despite being in a commanding position, McShane knows one bad performance can dent their promotion ambitions.
“It was the first thing we spoke about last Sunday after the Armagh game. We’ve done well so far - we’ve won two and drawn one,” said McShane.
“If we don’t keep our feet on the ground and prepare well for Monaghan and Louth, we could get our eyes wiped.
“We are focused on this Monaghan game. They got a good result against Louth and they’ve also beaten Warwickshire and, if they beat us, they’ll be in the hunt for a semi-final place. They’ll be up for this game, so we’ll need to be up for it too.”
McShane also played down the significance of their victory over the Orchard County last weekend.
Indeed, the top three teams in the division, Tyrone, Roscommon and Armagh could be very familiar with each other by the time the Nickey Rackard Cup gets underway next month.
“It is another step in the road we are travelling along. We remain undefeated and Armagh was a good win for us, albeit we didn’t play particularly well and we know we can play a lot better,” added McShane.
“The two points puts us at the top of the table ahead of this weekend’s game.
“If Armagh beat Roscommon, we have it in our own hands to top the group if we win our last two games. If Roscommon beat Armagh, it could come down to scoring difference.
“We could end up playing one of those teams in a League semi-final or final and then again in the Championship - we could be sick of the sight of each other by then!
“We beat Armagh by 10 points last weekend, but that will count for little in the Championship, or indeed if we play them again in the League.”
