Tyrone boss Mickey Harte wants his side to hit the ground running by winning the McKenna Cup for the fifth time under his stewardship.
The Ulster kinpgins came up just short in last year's final - narrowly going down to Derry, who subsequently went on to contest the provincial final against Donegal, in what was a cracking contest.
The Red Hands exited last year's championship at the quarter-final stage when eventual champions Dublin put them to the sword at GAA headquarters.
"You can't hide from the fact that teams that do well in the McKenna Cup have done well in the championship," Harte is quoted as saying in the Sunday Mirror.
"I think it's down to the attitude and mentality of teams that take everything seriously. They start off in that mode in January and are able to stay like that throughout the year.
"They know that intensity is not just a switch you can turn on come the summer. I think you have got to be serious in everything you do and we are deadly serious about this competition."
Tyrone kickstart their McKenna Cup campaign underway on Sunday against Queens University in Omagh.