‘He saw fellas who he could admire, he could look up to’ - McNulty

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LAOIS manager Justin McNulty was full of praise for his side’s application and determination to get the job done against Sligo in Portlaoise on Sunday.

The O’Moore County were on top from the first minute until the last and raced into an early lead.

“I tell you what it's all about. I'm standing here looking at a young fella, William, and what did he see out there in terms of the players' performance? He saw fellas who he could admire, he could look up to in terms of their courage, in terms of their application, in terms of their discipline, in terms of so many facets of the performance and that's what we're looking for. We asked the boys to give a performance that they can be proud of, and they did that today.

“Are we getting carried away by this at all? Not for a second. Sligo were out of sorts today; there's no question about that. Possibly we contributed to enforcing their off-gameness, but they weren't firing on all cylinders, no doubt, and we're not going to be getting carried away.

“We know there are areas for improvement in several facets of our game, but the most encouraging thing for me was the courage that our fellas demonstrated when that game was in the melting pot. They put their bodies in the line, they got in for balls that didn't deserve to win, they won balls that didn't deserve to win, they got blocks, they got tackles, and they got turnovers. They worked their scoring chances very effectively and very efficiently and that's very encouraging,” McNulty said.

McNulty is almost at a stage where he has a full hand to pick from and he knows that there are players on the bench hurting because they didn’t manage to get onto the field. There are also areas for improvement according to McNulty.

“Then there's other facets of our game which we discovered today which we didn't necessarily know that were there and that's exciting. There are boys on the bench who are hurting, who want to be involved and who are capable of being involved and that's exciting for us as well. There are guys trying to push for inclusion in the squad, so there's a really competitive group, really honest, accountable young fellas, who all can be very proud but under no illusions, we're not world beaters. We have big areas for improvement, and we have a big, big, exciting week ahead of us. We have a tough, tough challenge next week and we're going to enjoy this week. We're going up to Newbridge to a team who are beating all before of them and we know it's going to be one hell of a challenge for us, but one hell of an exciting challenge for them and we're really excited about it,” he added.

Laois lost Benny Carroll at half-time to a hamstring injury but there was some good news on the injury front as Ballylinan’s Ryan Brady made his Laois debut just over a year after doing his ACL in one of McNulty’s first training sessions.

“Benny, I haven't had a report yet. I don't know where he's at. Hopefully, he'll be ok for next week. There's a few fellas coming, good, which is positive as well. Shaun is there or thereabouts, they're all getting close. Ryan Brady, you saw coming in and that's exciting. We have a few knocks and bruises but pretty much we're getting close to full strength.

McNulty highlighted Brady’s commitment to his recovery, describing his rehabilitation as meticulous and even exceeding expectations. He also stressed the importance of turning that promise into performances on the pitch.

“I can't give the guy enough credit. It's been a tough, long road and he's been diligent and determined in terms of his recovery and rehab. He's done everything by the book and more so. To be back just a year after his operation is unbelievable and a testament to the character of the young fella. We're excited about what his potential is but now it's a question of him delivering on his potential because it's no use having potential, you've got to go out and perform,” McNulty stated.

Josh Hogan came off the bench at the break and McNulty was impressed with how the Portlaoise forward performed.

“Josh has got oodles of potential. He's a big athletic fella, very fit. You saw that big play which was one of our plays of the season and that brings another dimension to our game and that's something to be excited about.

Laois’ stand-out performer was Mark Barry, who contributed 11 points to Laois’ tally. McNulty saw it as a ‘real leader’s performance’.

Mark had a real leader’s performance I felt. He's a marked man because of his ability obviously and to carry that burden and still be able to perform given the added attention he's getting is a testament to the character of that young fellow. Mark also knows he can be better and we're going to push him to be better and push him to show more in terms of his work rate off the ball and on the ball,” McNulty commented.

One of Laois’ biggest strengths on Sunday was their efficiency in their shooting, something that McNulty credits to his two coaches, Ross Munnelly and Diarmuid Carroll.

“Ross and Diarmuid deserve all the credit there. They designed the game plan and Ross spends an enormous amount of time with the fellas practising scoring and we've talked about working our scores. We also recognise that they got goal chances there. We need to look at the tape to see how they were able to break through probably too easily on occasion and how we can be more ruthless in front of the goal because we created goal chances that we didn't take.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s game against table-toppers Kildare, McNulty reiterated that there’s plenty for his side to work on especially kick-outs.

“We have lots of things to work on. Kick-out-wise, we didn't dominate as positively as we could have done. I think they might have won the kick-out battle which is astonishing given the scoreline. We need to understand why that was and rectify it because we know next Saturday night, it’s going to be one hell of a ding dong battle up in Newbridge against a buoyant Kildare team who are flying high. We know we're going to be real up against it but we're excited about the challenge and we're going to really enjoy this week,” he concluded.