Laois eager to drive on

Laois boss Tomás Ó Flatharta admits to having mixed feelings about his side’s Leinster quarter-final defeat by Dublin but is now solely focused on progressing through the qualifiers.

Fermanagh in O’Moore Park today, he hopes, will be first step on a long journey.

“It is an advantage to be going back into it straight away” says Ó Flatharta. “The lads want to get that Dublin game out of their system and there’s no better way to do it than just coming in as a group again. If you have seven or eight weeks or so, things can get scattered.

“We have mixed feelings about the (Dublin) game. I know a lot of people are saying that Laois did very well, that they put up a great performance and a lot of fight but maybe they’re saying that because they didn’t expect a lot from Laois anyway. What’s important for us is that we build on the positives and there’s a lot of things we need to work on and improve. We’ve identified those and we’re going to work on them.”

Included in the ‘to-do’ list is not coughing up the ball as they did in the second half, and being more clinical with scoring opportunities.

The qualifier route has been kind to Laois in recent years but Ó Flatharta isn’t sure that has any relevance. He is of a similar mindset with regard to home advantage, although he is hopeful that there will be a sizeable support as a result.

The Kerry native is expecting a huge challenge from Fermanagh and is wary of the experience his counterpart, Pete McGrath brings to the table. He has his own not-so-secret weapon though in a revitalised Ross Munnelly, who followed up his excellent form in the league with seven points (five from play) against the All-Ireland champions.

Ó Flatharta has worked with the likes of Dessie Dolan and Pádraic Joyce in the past and he rates Munnelly highly. “Sometimes you come across players that are excellent footballers and Ross is certainly one of those great lads on the field. He is also our captain and he’s a great leader. Everybody looks up to him because of the way he carries himself, makes them improve themselves. He’s also a great support to me as captain.”