Mickey Harte has thrown the gauntlet down to the "mid-20s men" in his Tyrone squad.

The long-serving O'Neill County boss is in the process of bringing through a new-look side at the moment and he comments in today's Irish News:

"Players come and players go; players have their lifespan. That's what's good about the players who stayed on as long as they did at the high level of commitment that they had - because these other men have seen what they went through.

"These mid-20s men need to be the next people to lead the next bunch of young players into the future. The standard that those men set was there to be seen by those players who are now maybe the new leaders.

"That's what the process is all about. It's not about keeping a team until it's all gone and then having to start from scratch again.

"It's actually making that gradual transition and keeping as near the top as you can while you're doing that.

"Perhaps that's the stage Tyrone are at at the minute; they're in a stage of transition. I'd like the transition to be as far up the ladder as possible and that's what we have to fight to do." Tweet

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