Laois boss Browne an Offaly fan

Ian O'Riordan talks to Colm Browne as Laois prepare to meet'the best team in Leinster'

Diffidence is an obvious pre-match tactic yet Laois manager Colm Browne seems frank about who will start Sunday's Leinster football championship game as favourites. "I think Offaly are the best team in Leinster," he says of the opposition.

Exactly a year ago the counties met at the same stage of the championship and the result there partly contributes to Browne's assessment. Laois fought hard for as long as they could but Offaly's experience and class eventually rose to the top.

However, Laois have shifted through a few gears in the last year. The team that starts in Tullamore on Sunday is formed from the same nucleus and will clearly be more experienced but the class is starting to shine too. Added to that is some youthful self-belief.

The most important difference this year, though, is form. After a fiery League run that brought Laois all the way to the Division Two final - and promotion - there can be no arguing with their most testing preparations. They've also had a championship run already, against Wicklow, whereas Offaly have been free from competitive football for some two months.

Browne, however, warns against reading too much into his side's League run. "Certainly the long League run was an addition to our preparations but it wasn't always championship fare," he says. "Our big aim was promotion, and then we did get some high-class opposition against the likes of Armagh and Kerry, which was great experience.

"But I think the key game for us so far was playing Wicklow. It may not have been the most impressive performance but it was still a championship game and you can't beat that. We saw last weekend in the Tyrone-Armagh game that there is a big difference between League and championship football."

Browne has made just one team change from that which beat Wicklow, bringing Joe Higgins back into the defence, though Ian Fitzgerald has also been moved from wing to centre forward. There appears to be a healthy mix of youth (notably Darragh McEvoy) and experience (Michael Lawlor) in the Laois attack.

Still, Laois are not underestimating Offaly, as Browne believes they are the side to beat in Leinster this year: "It's not that long since they won the Leinster title and the National League, and they still have that hard core of experienced players. I think as well they were a bit unlucky against Dublin last year.

"So this Offaly game will definitely be another big step up for us. Our aim is just to keep our winning form going and we wouldn't have any complaints about our preparations up to this point."

Nor is Browne complaining about the trip into the heart of Offaly: "No, we have no qualms about playing in Tullamore. I don't think it's an issue for either side, and we feel no different about playing there than we would if it were in Portlaoise."

After beating top sides like Meath and Armagh in the League, the self-belief in Laois is sure to have developed notably from a year ago. The four-point winning margin that Offaly enjoyed last year wasn't the most convincing either and if Laois have made any progression from their League run it may just be enough to see them through.