Former Dublin, Roscommon and Cavan manager Tommy Carr believes that Tyrone will not be among the contenders for Sam Maguire, despite the Red Hands' comfortable seven-point win over Sligo in the All-Ireland qualifiers today.
Mickey Harte's side haven't appeared in an All-Ireland final since their 2008 victory but are now only two steps away and will face Monaghan in an All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park on Saturday.
"They'll cause problems but they're not going to win an All-Ireland title," Carr told RTÉ Radio One's Saturday Sport. "They're not polished enough, clinical enough, or ruthless enough.
"The over-riding emotion from Mickey Harte will be relief that he's in a quarter-final. And that will be a natural thing.
"But we all, when we sit down on the Monday and Tuesday night analysing games, you know in your heart and soul that there are weaknessses in the team and it's how much you can fill those weaknesses in the interim period."
Carr pointed to an over-reliance on five-time All-Star Sean Cavanagh (32) as evidence that Tyrone lack the strength in depth to challenge for the title.
"Sean Cavanagh is their strongest player but you look at the Donegal team, whose strongest player is Michael Murphy, and there are seven years between them," said Carr.
"That's a good indication. If you have a group of guys who are 23/24 and in those are your leaders and better players then you have something."
Carr did praise the efforts of corner-forward Darren McCurry, who scored 0-8 (4f) against Sligo but said that his team-mates will need to up their game to supply the Edendork man with the necessary ammunition against the big teams.
"You can have influential players, leaders and tough guys but at the end of the day you need your Gooch Coopers and your McCurrys. He did it and he was a real forward.
"The difficulty is when you come up against stronger teams with better defences, how do you get him into the position to score more often? That's the challenge.
"His shot selection and shot execution will nearly always be good but it's getting him that space to do so."
