BRIAN McENIFF is an honest man who despite a brilliant playing career will be best remembered as the guiding light behind Donegal's All Ireland breakthrough in 1992.

His capacity for honesty, though, comes into question when he insists he has lost all appetite for team management while at the same time going on relentlessly with such intense enthusiasm about the prospects for Sunday's All Ireland senior football semi final.

His love for the game is incompatible with the very thought of not being in the dugout again.

Being a strong supporter and believer in Ulster football were part of the reasons for his remarkable "seven in a row" success with the province's team in the Railway Cup.

It was also a reason for his sympathetic support for the Tyrone team at their hotel on the night they lost to Dublin in last year's All Ireland final.

He learned a number of things on that night eleven months ago that has him now convinced of Tyrone's ability to beat Meath on Sunday with five or six points to spare.

"Losing last year's final will be a huge spur to this Tyrone team. What I liked about them was the resolve that was there on that particular night. They insisted that they would bounce back back.

"Since then they have done something that has not been done in 20 years by retaining their Ulster championship and that for me says exactly what they are about. They are very focused on this championship. They refused to go over the moon by retaining their Ulster crown. Their managers, Art (McRory) and Eugene (McKenna), kept their feet on the ground."

"I think ii is very important for Tyrone that, while they are young, they make the breakthrough this time. You grow old in football and Ulster is a grave yard. They would have a tight job winning three Ulsters in a row.

"The seeds could be growing now in Ulster to undermine them in next year's Ulster championship even before they play this semi final."

McEniff goes on. "I know that if Seam (Boylan) who has survived us all as manager, is thinking of packing it in after this year's championship he will be giving it a hell of a lash this time. He will be going for broke.

"Meath broke a great tradition this year in winning the Leinster title without Colm (O'Rourke). Colm was such a servant for 18 years. To get through without him was in itself a great achievement by this comparatively inexperienced Meath side. It was a huge mental barrier for the side to pass through," says the Donegal man.

"Tyrone has been there for quite some time. They won three successive under 21 All Ireland's and Ulster titles on the back of that. I feel it is important that they succeed now from their own point of view as much as from the province's point of view, for we all have a vested interest here, in the Ulster champions."

McEniff runs the rule over Tyrone's strong points with boyish enthusiasm. "Their forward line has improved greatly and they no longer depend on the brilliant work of Peter Canavan. Brian Gormley is a great worker, maybe small in stature but an effective worker.

"They have a good midfield. Jody Gormley is a strong player and a perfect foil for Pascal Canavan, who can win his own ball with out any help. They have two excellent wing halfbacks, and although McCallum at centre half has not played well in the championship, mainly due to suspension and injury, he is an excellent player. I have no doubt that he can turn the corner on Sunday. He would need to, because Tommy Dowd is a very dangerous man when given space.

McEniff continues. "What impresses me most is the discipline in defence, and in Finbarr McConnell they have probably the best goalkeeper in the game.

Not only is he big and agile, he can save the high and low shots.

He has a huge kickout and more importantly has a great sense of where to kick it."

Adds McEniff Tyrone are more experienced as this stage than Meath are but then Meath are Meath in Croke Park and they will not be easy."

McEniff differentiates in importance between the squad and the team. He says Tyrone have a deep squad, and it's through the strength of a squad that you gain success.

"A team will not win a match, it's a squad that wins a game," he bays. The manager always has to look at the bench because there is always going to be somebody playing badly, apart from somebody getting injured early on."

The fact that to this day McEniff credits Meath with having helped Donegal to their All Ireland success should be sufficient warning to Tyrone. "We played them three times in 1990 and they were three lessons for us on how to win a football match. We played them in the National League quarter final in Clones. We beat them up and down the pitch, but they won the game in the end.

"We played them in an All Ireland semi final, and again they came good in the end. We later played them in the new League and they beat us again. They have a capacity to resist a lot of pressure and then go back up and score the points to keep in touch before coming with a burst to win."

Take note, Eugene and Art, of what the man says.

. Dubliner Tommy Lyons was last night appointed manager of the Offaly senior football team for the coming year. At a special meeting of the County Board held in Tullamore his appointment was ratified unanimously.

Although lacking experience of inter county management the new Offaly manager made his name with Dublin club Kilmacud Crokes. He trained them to win the county senior football championship twice and on the second occasion they went on to win the Leinster and All Ireland championships.