Kieran Gurley says Tyrone’s strength in the rear has been greatly diminished by the departed

Former Tyrone defender Kieran Gurley believes players who have left cannot appreciate how important they are to the team.

Seven men withdrew this year – mostly out of frustration, due to a lack of playing time – leaving Red Hands numbers dramatically low.

Paul Donaghy last week became the latest to join the emigration, following in the footsteps of Mark Bradley, Ronan O’Neill, Lee Brennan, Ternan McCann, Hugh Pat McGherry and Michael Cassidy.

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“Sometimes people may not realize the value of being on a team,” Gurley said.

“When I talked to people and listened to the players, they were considered important players.

“I get to know myself when you’re involved in a great team of players, it’s hard to please everyone, and I appreciate that.”

Gurley, who won the Irish treble, expressed his sympathy with the players’ desire to get rid of busy work.

And when the club’s season begins early next month, some have called based on their most realistic chances of getting useful playing time.

“I understand that any player wants to play competitive football.

“And unfortunately, you can start with only 15 on any given day.”

Gurley suggests that deceased players would have the opportunity if they chose to stay on board.

He believes the successful sub-influence strategy employed by manager Brian Duher and Feargal Logan last season will continue this year and open up opportunities for an expanded team.

Looking back last year, how Tyrone used his chair at various stages.

“The Canavan cyclist, for example, used to go in and finish games with the flu, and now he’s starting this year.

“So someone has to play that role to give us something.

“And you hope that the other players who are coming in to make up for the missing kids will make a difference this year.”

And if others are affected by injuries or lose shape, more opportunities will arise as the season progresses.

“There are other players who didn’t play. Sure, we lost players, but the players who were taking risks were probably a little rusty, for some reason, he didn’t perform at the level he showed last year.

“So I think there is still room for improvement in these players as well.”

Gurley worries that Tyrone’s current strength has waned significantly as they prepare to start defending their titles in Ulster and Ireland with a regional opener against Fermanag just one week later.

“Unfortunately, it’s not like that (in the strength of last year) and you’re losing experienced activist players.

But the administration can’t do anything about it. These players make the decision. Players have a choice to make, if they want to commit and if they decide to leave, respect that and move on.

“And that’s what the administration will do, and it won’t stop there.”

The rock club player believes that self-confidence will be high at Tyrone Camp as he approaches the tournament, despite the difficulties he faced during the tournament.

“They will get a lot of confidence in what they did last year and they will get it in the championship anyway.

“I wouldn’t say they came out of nowhere, but they didn’t expect a full Irish win and they did.

The league was a bit mixed, there were times when you thought you were going to play a game and it didn’t, especially against Donegal.

“They played very well in the first half, but in the end they lost this match and that probably pushed them into the relegation zone.

“So they have a lot of work to do, but I’m sure the guys involved will pick them up in the league right away.”