Now is not the time to walk away, says McNulty after Westmeath humbling

LAOIS senior football manager Justin McNulty didn’t shy away from the harsh realities of his side’s heavy 17 point defeat at the hands of Westmeath in Saturday’s Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-final at TEG Cusack Park.

Speaking candidly after the final whistle, he acknowledged just how far off the mark his team were.

“A tough day at the office for Laois. Full credit to Westmeath, they outplayed us in every area of the pitch for most of the game and were fully deserving of their victory. They were fiendishly hungry in the tackle, they were physical superior, they were powerful. They played great ball across the day and scored great scores.

“We just weren't able to get up to the pace of the game. We got close to them just before half-time, and then they got two killer-blow goals before half-time, which was a huge body blow. We weren't able to recover from that. Our confidence was down, and we just didn't get up to the pace of the game in the manner that we needed to do today. Those things happen, and the game got away from us,” he said.

After such a bruising loss, McNulty shared what he told his players in the dressing room.

“The players are hurting, they're hurting hard. It feels like a humiliation for us all, every one of us involved. We don't think we did ourselves justice, but sometimes that happens in sports. I said to the fellas that they're more than footballers, they've all got careers, and they've all got other responsibilities. To keep that balance and it's healthy, and to know that they can bounce back from this.

“They've got to summon that hurt to make sure that they have the desire to improve. I hope that never happens again, and work towards it never happening again like it did today,” he said.

Despite the nature of the result, McNulty stressed that he remains committed to the three-year project and to fulfilling his responsibilities as manager heading into his third year.

“It'd be very hard to walk away after a defeat like that and say that's as good as it is. We're all taking stock, the players are hurting and the backroom team are hurting. We all need to think about how we address this and with the county board, and say, can we improve this, and can we come back fighting stronger and more determined to get there again next year,” he said.

The decisive moment came just before the break when Westmeath struck for two quick goals. McNulty explained what Laois tried to change in response.

“The message was very much focused on trying to get control of our kick-outs, trying to disrupt their kick-outs, which we did relatively effectively for phases. But I guess our turnovers cost us very dearly, and our possession efficiency cost us dearly. As did our shot efficiency, they were much more accurate than us. They had more shots, better accuracy.

“So with all those things compounded against you, it's hard to win games. They out-physicaled us and outplayed us in most areas of the pitch today. That just happens on certain days, and the Laois team by no means did themselves, none of us did ourselves justice today. We have to look at that and study what happens and come back stronger and more determined,” he said.

McNulty had hoped that last week’s victory over Offaly would carry momentum, but he admitted Westmeath presented a completely different challenge.

“We thought there would have been huge confidence after last week, but Westmeath were a different level, they were at a different pitch and we didn't get to that pitch today,” he said.

Reflecting further on the first-half turning point, McNulty felt Laois squandered chances that could have changed the course of the game.

“The goals were crucial, we probably had a couple of half-chances before that where we coughed up possession cheaply. Then they got those chances and they punished us and got ahead of us that we weren't able to claw back,” he said.

Westmeath maintained their dominance after the interval, and McNulty recognised how effectively they seized their opportunities.

“They seemed to get the momentum all through the game at the key times, and that comes from experience, and I talked to the players about that. We have a lot of debutants this season, so that comes from experience. It comes from having the conditioning in the bank as well. They are superior to us in that regard, and they dominated us for most of the game,” he said.

Despite the disappointment, McNulty finished on a note of encouragement, highlighting the potential within the younger group and his own resolve to turn things around.

“It's a question of how much they are determined to fight back and say this is not as good as Laois gets. I told them about my experience as a footballer, as a county player with Armagh, having hard, tough days. We got headlights from Down and Derry, and we came back more determined and stronger. I'm very hungry to put things right, and I hope that the characters in that group say this is not good enough for us. We need to come back and show that we can be a whole lot better than that,” he said.

Finally, looking back on the year as a whole, McNulty acknowledged the inconsistency that marked Laois’s campaign but insisted that Saturday’s performance wasn’t a true reflection of the team’s capabilities.

“It's probably premature to do that. I think Ross described it probably before the season started. This is going to be a season of snakes and ladders, and that's how it turned out to be. The league was as such, and so was the championship as it played out. We had some positive days and probably more tougher days, today is the toughest of them all.

“I don't think it's a fair reflection on the calibre and quality of the footballers we have. But that's what we produced today and we need to figure out why that was. And know that we have to come back stronger and more determined. We have to check things and do things differently, otherwise that will happen again,” he ended.