Mickey Harte has expressed his enormous respect for the recently-retired Kevin Hughes.

'Hub' announced his intercounty retirement last night and his long-time mentor Harte was the first to pay tribute to the 31-year-old Killeeshil clubman:

"I have nothing but respect for Kevin Hughes," he told the Irish News. "What he gave to Tyrone in the teams I was involved in, he was a truly great player.

"He was one of the real leaders - an unsung leader, if you like - always a man you could rely on.

"He had a fantastic engine but the level of fitness and endurance he had was phenomenal.

"And the strength of character he had was something which a lot of people would understand.

"He helped us through the tragedy of Cormac very well because he and his family had suffered tragedy, too.

"I will always respect and admire him for that. He was a great man to have around the place and it was with great regret that we learned of his retirement.

"But everybody has to make their own decision and look at the circumstances of their own life and you have to respect that." Tweet

Most Read Stories