Meaney says Laois enjoying proving the critics wrong

Laois captain Kevin Meaney says the county’s All-Ireland quarter-final qualification is an answer to their critics.

With four wins on the trot, Justin McNulty’s side go into Saturday’s game against Dublin brimming with confidence. It’s their first appearance in the last eight in six years and Meaney took pleasure in proving their detractors wrong.

“2006 is the last time, we had a big win against Tyrone that year,” he said.

“It’s great for the county because the thing is we’ve been written off by a lot of people. We’re not going to get big headed or anything about it, we’re going to keep our heads very level on the ground but it’s great for the county, it’s great for underage, it’s great for people coming through Laois football.”

It was only two months ago that some members of the Laois executive were severely critical of McNulty’s management. There were questions about too much emphasis being placed on the team’s physicality but few are complaining now.

“We ignore all the critics. I just put it down to hard work, the team sticking together through thick and thin. We just hope to march on.

“Sure look, that’s what the critics say, we don’t really mind what they say. That’s all down to hard work. It has to pay off at some stage.

“We’ve worked hard over the years. That’s just something for people to talk about, they have nothing else to be talking about.”

Dublin made road-kill of Laois last time they met in the 2011 Leinster quarter-final but Meaney, speaking just before the draw was made, didn’t mind what team they were drawn against.

“No, we don’t fear anyone. We don’t care who we get. We’ll just take whoever we get. It’s opposition and you just have to deal with it.”

The only team to qualify for the quarter-finals from the first round backdoor, Laois have more momentum than the majority of teams left.

“After our loss we got back in the Carlow game. Once we got over Carlow it started to be a snowball effect – you keep the ball rolling. It’s great for us during the weeks. We’re really enjoying the momentum.”