John Sugrue sets out stall in Laois

It took a year longer than they had hoped but the Laois footballers got their wish last September when John Sugrue was appointed senior manager.

Before Peter Creedon was given the nod, the 2016 panel had articulated their desire to the county board that the Renard man take over from Mick Lillis. Physio to the team in 2012 and ’13, the appointment didn’t come about although it was understandable why the players backed him. In 2015, he had guided South Kerry to a county title having been a trainer alongside Pat O’Shea when Kerry claimed a second successive All-Ireland title in 2007.

A member of the Park-Ratheniska club outside Portlaoise and with his Laois Physiotherapy Clinic well established in the middle of the town, Sugrue is assimilated in the county at this stage. It being his adopted home, there was an allure to take the helm but then there is obviously an attraction in awakening a dormant county that were demoted to Division 4 last year.