Not so long ago Justin McMahon was a peripheral member of the Tyrone squad, a player who stepped in to fill the occasional breach that might have manifested itself in the line-up.

It’s rather different today, though. Not only is the Omagh St Enda’s player an integral cog in the Red Hands defensive mechanism but he has already been given the seal of approval as the best full-back in the province if one is to judge from the various popular provincial Allstar selections currently in vogue.

Justin’s inclusion in any selection encompassing the cream of the current Ulster crop is indeed richly deserved.

He has slipped into what has been something of a problem position for Tyrone and has helped to bring a further element of security to a rearguard that creaked and groaned rather ominously last year and indeed earlier this year before acquiring a more settled demeanour.

Perhaps it’s just as well, too, that Justin and those around him are offering more buoyancy and confidence right now.

On Sunday, Tyrone will face Wexford in the All Ireland semi-final at Croke Park (4.00pm) and the Leinster side’s attack includes four of the hottest forwards in the country at the moment in Mattie Forde, Redmond Barry, Ciaran Lyng and P J Banville.

Forde is a master finisher while Barry’s work-rate comes straight out of the Brian Dooher personal manual.

Lyng, who was on the books of Preston North End at one stage, is not only an accurate free-taker from the right-hand-side but can be explosive from open play. And Banville is an all-action, forceful full-forward who relishes being involved in the thick of the action.

Wexford might have been dismembered by Dublin in the Leinster final but they have pieced their morale and their strategy together again to such good effect that they have already ended the hopes of both Down and Armagh of becoming serious contenders for the All Ireland title. Now their sights are on a third Ulster scalp and Tyrone certainly don’t want to be caught on the hop.

Justin McMahon, indeed, epitomises both the caution and commitment which mark Tyrone’s build-up to the game.

“Wexford have shown themselves to be a very resilient team. They will feel they can raise their game further and obviously we have to be ready for the challenge,” he maintains.

His current term of residence at full-back means that Conor Gormley, previously a jack-of-all-trades in a defensive context, has now bedded down even more comfortably at centre-half-back with the superbly consistent Davy Harte and the indefatigueable Philip Jordan alongside him.

In throttling Dublin’s hopes of making it into the last four, Tyrone displayed the kind of defensive security and counter-attacking menace that auger well for their chances on Sunday.

“From the minute the whistle went in our game against the Dubs, our thoughts have been on Wexford. We are certainly looking no further than this Sunday, it would foolish to so otherwise,” insists Justin.

Tyrone are favourites, of course - not that they will place too much emphasis or value on this particular label. But with Tommy McGuigan, Sean Cavanagh and Colm McCullagh in particular in such sparkling form up front - and Dooher simply in a class of his own - the chances of the Wexford defence in which skipper Colm Morris and Philip Wallace are key players containing their manoeuvring would appear to be relatively slim.

This being the case, Mickey Harte’s men should be priming themselves for action come the third Sunday in September.