'Whoever Beats Tyrone This Year Will Go On To Win It': McKaigue Makes His Pick Of All-Ireland Minor Title

Former Derry defender Chrissy McKaigue could see the Tyrone domination coming from a mile away.

The secondary school teacher isn’t surprised by the recent Ulster dominance as the last two All-Irelands have been contested by two Ulster teams and won by his native county.

“My day job is at St Patrick's Maghera,” he said

“We were very fortunate this year to win the MacRory Cup and the Hogan Cup, which is the pinnacle of school football.

I do a small amount of coaching with a friend of mine in Tyrone at the minor level, so that’s why I have a bit of knowledge of the Tyrone minor team, having seen them in schools this year and for the club.

Look, they have been dominant this year so far in Ulster, and there would be the consensus in Tyrone that they would have a lot of faith in these lads in transitioning on to be really good senior players.

There's no guarantee in sports, but I will concede that whoever beats Tyrone this year will go on to win it, but they have a good chance.”

McKaigue believes that the recent success is largely due to the coaches at the club and school levels, as they are the foundation for inter-county success.

“I think there are different systems set up in Ulster,” he said.

"I'm not entirely sure what exactly goes on in Cavan. Derry is a neighbouring county to Tyrone, so that the structures would be similar; however, there is a significant emphasis on secondary schools. I know that a lot of clubs in Tyrone and Derry would have similar systems in terms of the stuff they do at the underage level.

Ultimately, counties must have their houses in order in terms of development squads and all the various aspects. The reality is that if the work isn’t being done at the club level foremost and in schools, it's difficult for counties to be successful.

It's an important message to get out there because I know the work being done in Tyrone clubs and Derry clubs is massive, and that’s a testament to the coaches and the ambitions of the club. They're giving them players every opportunity and chance to succeed.”

The Electric Ireland All-Ireland minor quarter-finals take place this weekend and see Munster champions Kerry take on Cavan, Ulster champions Tyrone take on Cork, Leinster winners Offaly face Mayo, while Connacht champions Roscommon play Louth.

Kerry v Cavan, O’Moore Park @12:00

Tyrone v Cork, O’Moore Park @13:45

Roscommon v Louth, Kingspan Breffini @19:00

Offaly v Mayo, Dr Hyde Park @15:00