McNulty and Laois aiming to take the next step with Tailteann win

The Leinster outfit take on Antrim in the tournament semi-final on Sunday.

LOOKING UP: Laois manager Justin McNulty. Pic: INPHO/Bryan Keane

When Justin McNulty concluded his first term as Laois manager in late 2013, they were fresh off a final round qualifier against All-Ireland holders Donegal and had finished third in Division 2. The previous year, Dublin had only beaten Laois by three points in an All-Ireland quarter-final.

The fall has been significant since and McNulty's second coming is all about elevating the county again. They've already been promoted from Division 4 though that was largely anticipated. A Tailteann Cup triumph, however, would mark progress, securing Laois a return to the All-Ireland SFC after three seasons in tier two.

It will take two huge wins at Croke Park to get it done but after beating Kildare, many people's pre-tournament favourites, it's now a realistic ambition.

From McNulty's perspective, not a whole pile has changed in terms of the response from the Laois players in the decade or so that he was away.

"I've been asked this before - so everything has changed and nothing has changed," he smiled. "The science has gone into the stratosphere, the statistical analysis, the S&C, the background team, the professionalism, the professionalism of the players, it's all gone up a notch.

"But then the fundamentals remain exactly the same, there's still a process by which you have to go through if you want to be successful in the sport, whether it's hurling or camogie or ladies football. You have to commit to the process and if you do, good things can happen.

"I'm not saying we're there, we haven't achieved anything, but we're trying hard."

The Championship has gone through a few different iterations since 2013, from the Super 8s period to the straight knock-out of covid to the current double tier structure.

"The big thing that has changed for me is the fixtures," said McNulty. "The fixtures make it so much more exciting, week on week, game on game, it's brilliant, more games, brilliant. Obviously you're at the mercy of injuries then but it makes it interesting because it's more of a squad game than ever. I think it makes for a happier dressing-room, the more competitive outings that your team has."

At this stage last season, Laois were humiliated by Down, coughing up 8-16 and crashing out of the Tailteann Cup.

"Obviously last year, the eight goals conceded in Croke Park, that hurt badly, that cut badly," said McNulty. "It's something the team committed to doing, to never allowing that to happen again. That's not to say it mightn't happen again but we'll do our damnest to be more defensively sound than we were on that occasion, to be able to compete, because you can't compete if you're conceding eight goals."