Whatever the result, Burns has let nobody Down
MUTING the queue of people who, early this season told Eamonn Burns to ‘walk’ and ‘walk fast’, has been an impressive body of work by the Down manager. Nobody thought he would be on the sideline by mid-summer, though this column did speak up for the man (see below) as he was being hounded and roundly abused several months ago. At the time, I reminded everybody that Burns was doing the best job any man could possibly do — and that there are periods in the history of every county when they need to stomach insufferable defeats. Burns took the job in the county when nobody else wanted it. He also took the ugly medicine that came his way from so many quarters when Down beat nobody in the torrid 18 months that followed, but, after surprising Monaghan in the Ulster semi-final (and stepping into tomorrow’s decider against Tyrone), Burns was as philosophical as he had ever been. ‘Sure, there was going to be pain... everybody knows there’s going to be pain,’ he stated calmly. There will undoubtedly be more of that pain awaiting Burns this weekend as, no matter how stubbornly Down defend, they will feel the full force of a Tyrone team that has finally unleashed a barrage of big guns, and small guns, in this Championship. Twenty-two points against Derry, and 1-21 against Donegal, are numbers that tell the story of just how fluently Mickey Harte’s men are performing this summer. A similar figure is predictable enough tomorrow, and a 10-point victory margin for Tyrone will not be surprising. Harte, the game’s longest serving manager, spoke admiringly of his rival’s characteristics as a man earlier this week — and he made it clear that the people of Down are lucky to have someone like Burns leading them through what has been one of the most trying of times in the proud county’s history. Pain is the name of the game for all team managers, and Harte has had his share of it too in his nine-year wait to return to the day of an All-Ireland final. Harte, of course, will not spare Burns tomorrow. But no matter what happens in Clones, Burns is going to be credited at this season’s end as the architect of the most impressive resurrection in 2017. IT WILL be a major surprise if Tipperary fail to beat Armagh today. That says everything about the road the Premier County footballers and team management have travelled in such a short period of time — that they are deserving favourites to see off a Kieran McGeeney-led Armagh.