TEDDY McCarthy must be wondering what all the fuss is about regarding the state of Laois hurling.
He missed the opening 20 minutes but he was very happy with what he saw on his first appearance as a manager at O’Moore Park.
The Cork man paid tribute to the entire panel for their display in difficult conditions but he is not getting carried away after two victories over Dublin opposition.
He knows there are more difficult assignments ahead.
Teddy remarked on how Dublin are now one of the top teams in the country but did not want to take from the performance of his charges when he accepted Dublin were very much under strength.
Teddy pointed to two very important goals, although he nearly missed the first, but said goals wins games and Laois got them at the right time.
Asked about the fade out after going nine points in front, he said Dublin would always have a dominant spell and when they had they made good use of it.
But he praised his own defence for not panicking and admired their disciplined performance in the final ten minutes when the result could have gone either way.
Looking to Galway he admits it is another challenge and he is delighted with the response to training and says that he will keep his options open. If players perform well with their clubs the management will be keeping a watching brief.
Anthony Daly, the Dublin manager, also praised the Laois performance and admitted the hungrier team won on the day and deservedly so.
He also bemoaned the fact his side will have no further games ahead of their trip to Galway for the first round of the league in three weeks time.