Tyrone manager Mickey Harte along with grand son Michael and his son Mark Harte along with his other grandson Liam after the Ulster final against Donegal on July 17

MICKEY Harte has acknowledged that his players had every right to celebrate last month’s long-awaited Ulster Championship success – and the long-standing Tyrone boss says his players also relish the demands of reaching the top of the sport.

Tyrone are in the final stages of their preparations for Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final clash against Mayo – preparations that began two days after a cathartic Ulster Championship final win over Donegal on Sunday, June 17.

Earlier this season Brian McGuigan bemoaned the ever-increasing demands placed on modern-day intercounty footballers, but Harte insists that players aren’t shackled to an overbearing regime.

“I’m saying you were right to enjoy your Ulster title because it was something special and something you’ll always remember and it’s up to us, collectively to manage that, park it and say that is good now – we’ve achieved something we’ve set out to do and enjoyed it, we showed our enjoyment for winning it and now it’s time to be in the next zone. The next zone started on the Tuesday after we won our Ulster title.

He elaborated: “Nobody forces anybody onto a county panel, and nobody forces them to attend to what they need to do to become a top-class Gaelic football athlete. They choose to do that and if in this modern era you have players who choose a lifestyle that gives them the best chance to deliver the best of themselves as a Gaelic football athlete.

“I admire and respect those people, and if people want to be a socialite Gaelic football athlete, then they’re entitled to do that too and I respect that 100%. I’m just amazed at the dedication of our modern day Gaelic football athletes in this county and I totally respect what they do.”