Roscommon boss Anthony Cunningham has stressed the importance of getting off to a winning Super 8s start at The Hyde this evening.
The Rossies lost all three of their games at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage last year - starting with a defeat to Tyrone.
Cunningham, who wasn't in charge last summer, vows his team will give everything at home to avoid a repeat.
"We're going into the game in a confident mood," admitted Cunningham. "Winning the Connacht Championship the way we did has given us great confidence and it's huge to have our first Super 8 game at home.
"It goes without saying that we will be targeting a win to set us up for the rest of the campaign and make no mistake our aim is to beat Tyrone."
But he was keen to stress the task facing his side as he points out how Tyrone have gone back to the game plan that took them to the All-Ireland final last September.
“Tyrone are formidable," he cautioned. "They've a team full of experienced top class intercounty players so we know what we're facing.
“They have reverted to the system that they've had in recent years. They defend in numbers and then break quickly and there are always players coming off the shoulder ready to run hard and set up attacks.
"It’s been very successful for them over the years and we have to come up with a plan to match that."
Cunningham could be the man to do that but his counterpart Mickey Harte is a past master at negotiating these type of hurdles.
Tyrone have picked themselves up after their listless Ulster semi-final defeat to Donegal by out-classing Kildare and Cavan in the qualifiers.
"Quarter-finals used to be a very dangerous place, if you lost one game or had a bad day out, you were gone," noted Harte.
"At least now there is a second chance kind of thing, so I think every team will be looking at that prospect, perhaps short of Dublin.
"They'll expect to win all their games and top the group.
"But the rest of us will be fighting for the other place and we won't look past Hyde Park on Sunday because that's the only game in town.
"We will take it a step at a time, because that's what we've been doing for the last three games and we'll see where that takes us".
Verdict
It was a win late this week for Tyrone, albeit an expected one, to get one of Peter Harte's black cards rescinded and for him to be available for this evening's game in Roscommon.
Harte is an important part of an exciting and well-functioning forward line at present, along the likes of on-song Cathal McShane and Mattie Donnelly.
Roscommon, too, have a forward line that can be dangerous if given space, as Galway afforded them to their cost in the second half of the Connacht final, but Tyrone's defence won't be as charitable and they can emerge with a precious away win.
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