MICKEY HARTE SAYS that Tyrone’s critics are fighting the wrong battle if they want to stamp out cynicism in Gaelic football.

The Red Hand have been in the firing line since their controversial All-Ireland quarter-final win over Monaghan, a game in which forward Martin Penrose was sent off for striking Dessie Mone.

But most of the focus has instead been on All-Star midfielder Sean Cavanagh who was slammed by RTÉ pundit Joe Brolly for deliberately denying Conor McManus a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Cavanagh’s rugby tackle on McManus stoked the embers of an argument which never seems to die for Tyrone: the accusation that their tactics are deliberately dirty, cynical and a disease in the modern game.

While he admits that the Cavanagh incident was “unsavoury,” Harte says that there are plenty of more serious offences which never get played out in the court of public opinion while every Tyrone indiscretion, however minor, sees them landed back in the dock.

“I have seen lots of cynical play, where someone has gone in with a late shoulder on someone reaching down to pick up a ball and hit them about the head or neck.

“I’ve seen people take a frontal challenge and hit someone in the front with a shoulder challenge. I’ve seen things that, for me, are much more cynical than pulling someone down, however unsavory that may appear.

Those incidents that Sean were involved with will never injure anybody. They may stop somebody being in a better position to do something with the ball but there are lots of things going on that are much more cynical and not getting as much attention as the pull down.

Once again he defended himself against allegations that he sends his team to systematically foul the opposition — or, to use the modern euphemism, ‘close the game out.’

“Absolutely not. If you ask any of the players – and I open this to anybody who has ever played under me, and I’ve been managing Tyrone teams for a long, long time – I would defy anyone to say I have ever said ‘foul a player.’

“I’ve actually said quite the opposite. I have said ‘do all in your power to avoid fouling and avoid attracting cards.’ Because when you attract a card, you’re limiting your potential to have as good a game as possible.

Ask any player from any era that I have been working with. I would defy anybody to stand up and say that I told them to foul.

It disappoints me that that can be paraded as the currency of the day. And when you roll something out often enough, some people will believe it anyway. And that’s a pity.

I really think people should be more discerning and delve into these things more and I would be happy to take anything that is levied at me.

Come Sunday, Tyrone will face All-Ireland favourites Mayo with just 70 minutes standing between them and another All-Ireland final.

It’s a scenario that seemed plausible after their excellent league campaign but quite remote on that Ballybofey Sunday when they lost to Donegal at the end of May.

Nothing, not even the constant negativity surrounding this team, can take away from their achievements, Harte says.

“Within the group, we believe in what we’re doing and we have been on a very tough journey and we are very pleased that we have managed to get through all these obstacle, varied as they were.

“So we’re happy to have achieved that. Getting them to the last four is a major achievement for us at this stage because we are in the process of rebuilding.

“There is very few of the original ’03 team playing and starting our games. This is a really new team in many, many ways.

“It’s important to be at the latter stages of the Championship to see what is required to get there and to be there and what is required when you are there. So it has been a good recovery from the defeat to Donegal.”

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