Laois need to hit the ground running

LAOIS' frustrating inability to start a game in top gear is seriously compromising their chances of maintaining their Division One status in the league and Mick O'Dwyer is determined to eradicate that problem before the Leinster champions launch their bid to retain their provincial title.

Three points in their last two games with Meath and Galway have given the midlanders a fighting chance to survive the trapdoor but their last three outings have seen them slip behind by alarming margins before launching determined fightbacks with varying degrees of success.

Tom Kelly's last-gasp point may have been the main talking point among the 6,000 supporters leaving O'Moore Park two days ago but in the Laois dressing room the post mortem had already started on the first six minutes when Galway sprinted into a 1-3 to 0-1 lead.