It’s always been standard practice for both players and managers to spread the acclaim to the backroom team, although Peter Donnelly has been singled out for special praise in Tyrone’s run to Sunday’s Allianz Football League Division Two final. The hope is the good league run will potentially bring help them get back to the top of the championship.

He may be officially listed as their strength and conditioning coach, but Donnelly is firstly and still lastly a Tyrone footballer – and that’s possibly what is making the difference this season.

It’s actually Donnelly’s second season working with manager Mickey Harte, only now they seem to have discovered that perfect symmetry. Donnelly won All-Ireland medals with Tyrone at minor, under-21 and senior level, all under Harte, including the senior successes of 2005 and again in 2008.

He then spent a few years working as GAA development officer in Cavan (their opponents on Sunday, coincidentally), and Harte makes no secret of that fact Donnelly’s return to his native county is a case of finding exactly what they’ve been looking for – especially in closing the so-called gap on the likes of Dublin and Kerry.

Very important

“Peter’s been very important,” says Harte. “Although I’m not so sure it’s all about the strength coming on all of a sudden. That develops over years. When people do something over a prolonged period of time, they get physically stronger anyway.

“The good thing is that Peter is not only strength and conditioning coach, but he’s a Gaelic football strength and conditioning coach. His mindset is ‘I’m a Gaelic footballer first of all, and I know what Gaelic footballers need to develop into being the best they can be’.

“That’s the real secret of Peter Donnelly. He’s got the head for the game, he’s played it at a high level, and created his training programme to meet the demands being made of football players today. That’s the nice marriage we have in terms of his strength and conditioning ethos, and it’s definitely been good for them.

“But these things take time. Young players don’t bulk up all of a sudden. It might take one year for some, two years for others, three years for others, to get to the level they need to be at to withstand the intensity of the physical nature of today’s game.”

Modern pace

Colm Cavanagh, who although he turns 29 in July may actually be one of those players, credits Donnelly for bringing his game up to modern pace, whether that actually means closing the gap on Dublin. Kerry, etc.

“Peter has come in and done a tremendous job,” says Cavanagh. “He’s a superb coach, and I’ve known Peter a long time, played with him with Jordanstown and also with Tyrone

“And before he came in to us I heard all the good reports. The lads have just bought in to what he brings. He has the knowledge and experience. He’s also such a great people person, you really want to work for him, and that adds to team morale as well.

“In terms of losing ground to other teams, like Dublin, Kerry... possibly. But I think we’re not far away. But Peter is up to date in terms of sports science and whatever else is out there.”

Donnelly, a Coalisland club man, was also joint-captain of Jordanstown’s 2008 Sigerson Cup-winning side. Harte, however, is also quick to keep spreading the acclaim, and also credits selector Gavin Devlin for ensuring Tyrone are constantly evolving.

“I’d have to say it’s a process of all the people who work with this team who have made this happen. And Gavin Devlin is another very important person in making these things happen.

“He played a defensive role himself, has a wonderful head for that side of the game. He’s also passionate about it as a Tyrone man, and a Tyrone footballer of the past. Together we work well.

“Peter’s input is very important too. We know therefore that our players are as well prepared physically as they can be. They know that our minds are never still in terms of the coaching, or what we are thinking about.

“So we are presenting to them ways of playing as an individual and collectively as a team, and trying to create some kind of adaptability as a team, so that you are not just a one-trick pony, you have other things you can do on any given day. That’s a continuous process and we enjoy the challenge of that.”