McNulty describes Laois’s performance as that of a ‘warrior’

The Laois senior footballers put in one of their best league performances in some time on Saturday evening as they blitzed Westmeath in Portlaoise. Laois dominated the contest with their Midland rivals from start to finish.

Winning manager Justin McNulty described Laois’s performance as that of a ‘warrior’. He is well aware, however, that they’ll have to move their focus to Fermanagh very quickly, Laois’ next opponents in two weeks.

“Very proud, absolutely, I said to the fellas there, very proud to stand in the same dressing room as them because it was such a warrior performance from the first minute right through to the 75th/80th minute and one they had to dig deep to deliver.

“We didn’t get the run of the ball last week and things didn't work out for us despite a huge effort from the players last week and we just, we dug in, our backs were to the wall and we came out fighting and that's what the boys did tonight. We should all be very proud of it and enjoy these nights because these nights don't come around that often.

“We deserve to soak it in but know that we have to very quickly shift our focus to the next game and Fermanagh away it's going to be a tough, tough encounter and we've still some finishing off to do because we're not there yet in the division,” McNulty said.

Laois, as McNulty says, dominated every area of the game and, when they needed scores at key moments, they delivered.

“It was a warrior performance on kick outs and in every facet of the game. We caused real problems for them on their kick outs and we were very efficient on our own so that was the platform for the game. There are areas for improvement on our performance, we didn't look after the ball as well as we should have done but we got scores, and in the big moments we won the big moments, we got the big scores at big times and fully deserving of our victory tonight,” he said.

Laois scored three goals on the night. Ronan Coffey’s goal solidified Laois’s early dominance before Paul Kingston and Evan O’Carroll raised green flags in the final 20 minutes.

“Evan demonstrated his character and the team demonstrated their character. It could have been easier just to say things aren't going our way and accept that but the players refused to accept that and they just wanted to do themselves justice and they did that very much so on the evening.

“We do also recognise that we got the breaks tonight and Westmeath weren't firing, we played a part in that but we're staying humble and hard working. We've got to keep the focus on being better because there are still areas for improving our performance and we have to very quickly shift our sights on to Fermanagh because they'll not be an easy touch up there in Enniskillen. They're always a tough, tough opposition and they beat us well up there last year so we know how tough it's going to be,” McNulty added.

There was also some good news on the injury front as Emo’s Pa Kirwan made his long-awaited return from the bench. McNulty praised him for quietly doing the work in the background and sticking to the process.

“Pa Kirwan in particular, he's been in a lonely place for the last number of months with a tough, tough injury to recover from after surgery. He deserves enormous credit for that and just quietly, stealthily going about his business, doing the work and sticking to the process and the whole group and it's not just Pa, Paul and Niall, it's the squad right.

“We're having to sit down as a coaching team and really have a tough, tough time picking our 26 because there are guys who could justifiably maybe throw their heads up and start talking in wee corners but they haven’t and they’ve stayed going and stayed positive, sticking to the process, trusting the process and when you trust the process, the process ultimately rewards you,” he said.

Laois were without Ben Dempsey, who suffered an injury in training during the week, but McNulty commended his side for not letting those setbacks derail them.

“The team's experiencing setback after setback but they haven't allowed them to derail them and they kept going. We obviously know tonight's a good night, we don't get carried away we’ll stay humble and hard working and we've got to be better the next day,” he commented.

Laois’ next game comes against Fermanagh in Enniskillen on Saturday 14 March. Although Fermanagh come into that game without having picked up a point, McNulty is wary of the fact they could have a sting in their tail and Laois should be prepared for a battle.

“Listen, there's no doubt, if we in any way underestimate Fermanagh, we'll be in serious bother. There could be a sting in their tail, we've got to go up there prepared for battle, the same way we were prepared for battle tonight. Even more so because we're away from home and Fermanagh will be trying to earn some respect and some more pride in their performance in the league because they're coming into that game with zero points so there might be a sting in their tail and we've got to be prepared for that,” McNulty concluded.