Harte autobiography questions Cavanagh

In news that will shock Tyrone GAA fans, Red Hand senior football manager Mickey Harte has come out and questioned the reasons why Sean Cavanagh felt unable to start against Cork in this year's All-Ireland semi-final.

The 2008 Footballer of the Year only played in the last 20 minutes of a game in which then defending All-Ireland champions Tyrone were beaten by a brilliant Cork. Officially a stomach bug was cited for the reason that Cavanagh did not play from the start, but Harte - who had been hoping to take Tyrone on to a fourth Sam Maguire title under his tenure this year - is apparently not so sure.

In his autobiography to be released this week, Harte instead offers up the idea that his star man was simply feeling under too much pressure and says he was puzzled when the forward came to him on the morning of the August game to say he was "wrecked", wasn't "feeling good" and hadn't slept at all that night.

"I needed to try and see things from his perspective. Apart from a few isolated flashes of brilliance, his form hadn't been great all season. Why was that?" asked Harte.

"As a player Sean had always delivered. He was an icon for us and that greatness had been rewarded in 2008. Maybe the pressure was stemming from that."

Cavanagh recently underwent surgery on his ankle and is expected to miss the early rounds of next year's National Football League as he recovers. Tyrone open their NFL campaign with a clash against 2008 winners and 2009 runners-up Derry.