AFTER two decades of service to the O’Rahilly cause, Steven McNulty admits he doesn’t have long left, but the 37-year-old is hoping to go out on a high.
Clonoe’s championship adventure reaches a critical stage in this weekend’s Tyrone SFC semi-final clash with Carrickmore.
A difficult season has taken a turn for the better during a morale-building championship run, and a young team with a handful of wise old heads is in bonus territory.
“This is definitely the last swing of the dice, but I’m enjoying just being fit to play football, and to play with these younger lads, it’s a revelation to still be playing, so I’m happy with that,” said the long-serving midfielder.
“We have been harping at some of these younger lads in our team to have the belief and have the trust in yourself, and I’m glad a lot of them stepped up, and we needed them.
“We have been in a learning curve all year with these lads, bringing them through league football. We had a lot of wrongs, but when it really matters we’re trying to get a run of results. We have to dig deep a wee bit more now.”
Clonoe managed to survive against the odds last weekend, grinding out a result despite having four players dismissed (three black cards, one red) in their quarter-final against Donaghmore.
“It will do their confidence a world of good, we’re a young team,” McNulty said.
“We were glad to get across the line, it was a hard-fought battle, and we never thought of anything else from Donaghmore.
“Any time we played them over the years, it has always been a battle, so we didn’t expect anything else.
“We have a lot of stuff to work on, a lot of sloppy mistakes made, but we got the vital goal, and thank God we held on.
“You can’t predict what’s going to happen in championship football. But we dug deep, the lads dug to the bottom their belly and pulled us out of a hole.
“We needed to pull together, and thank God, near the end, we did pull together, the more experienced lads came off the bench and got a few vital scores.”
One of those impact subs was McNulty’s younger brother Danny, playing his way back to fitness following a lengthy injury lay-off, and he had a hand in every second half score, grabbing the only goal of the game to swing the tie in his side’s favour.
“He’s a massive talent to have, and we’re glad we have him on our side. Another couple of weeks fitness over him will make a lot of difference to him as well.”
An extended run in the championship has lifted spirits, but there’s still a relegation play-off to follow against Moy, a constant reminder of the precarious position the club finds itself in.
“We said whenever we got on this championship run that this is our preparation for a relegation battle.
“We have found ourselves in this hole, and this is a good stepping stone.
“We have won a few matches in a row, we drew the last league game, so the momentum is with us.
“It’s bonus territory for us now, and the longer we keep training and keep playing, the better it is for the relegation battle.”
However, should Clonoe go all the way and win the championship, safety is guaranteed, and the relegation issue will disappear.
“We have to keep an open mind. Every game is a game and anything can happen.”
