McNulty and Laois shaping up to be big hitters on big stage

GAELIC GAMES: GAVIN CUMMISKEYtalks to manager Justin McNulty, who is evolving a system designed to help Laois move forward

JUSTIN McNULTY seemed a surprising choice to succeed Seán Dempsey as Laois manager last August, but looking across most Leinster counties it becomes apparent that the recruitment of footballing gurus tends to come from outside their own stockpile of GAA men.

Mick O’Dwyer has had every ounce of expertise rung out of him by Wicklow, Kildare and, of course, Laois, who he guided to a provincial title in 2003. More recently the likes of Meath, Kildare and now Laois looked north to Ulster for coaching guidance.

McNulty’s results in the opening months of his first inter-county managerial season have been impressive.

On Sunday he can deliver the first piece of silverware, the Division Two league title, since Micko had thousands of Laois men, women and children leaving Croke Park in a state of delirium eight years ago.

Not that McNulty is getting carried away. “I saw them as a team with huge potential,” he responds when asked why he took the position. “But we are not there yet. I’m a managerial novice. I’m not a guru. I don’t have all the answers. I’ve plenty to learn.

“This team has a long way to go. We are in a league final but come the 22nd of May this game doesn’t matter. Longford are on a crest of a wave also. They have some unbelievable scoring rate in the league.”

Beat Longford and Dublin will be next. A Dublin team that has developed a very distinct style of late under the guidance of Pat Gilroy.

There is a perception Laois hired an Ulster coach to ensure a particular way of playing would allow Laois to finally evolve.

“I think it is not a question of me coming in and imposing a style I feel is most conducive to success. It is about agreeing and practising a style of play.

“What’s happened before is irrelevant. I’m not even going to discuss that. It is about what they do going forward. It is about evolving a system that is best for Laois moving forward.”

They have certainly evolved into larger men. Laois have been blessed with a deep well of talented will-o’-the-wisps these past 10 years who lacked the essential physicality of other sides. It has cost them dearly but with midfielders Brendan Quigley and Pádraig Clancy joined by the likes of John O’Loughlin, Kevin Meaney and even Colm Begley this is no longer the case.

“They are very, very big in the middle of the park,” said Donegal manager Jim McGuinness.

“Just look at Colm Begley at wing forward, he could play in the middle easily. He has gone for very strong players. Six or seven midfielders in his team. They are very direct. The last day we struggled with their physicality. Coming straight at us.

“They have the smaller, nippier men as well in their corner forwards (MJ Tierney and Ross Munnelly) who loop out and the big men give it to them and they kick it over the bar. It is working very, very well for them.”

The problem with Laois will not be solved on Sunday by beating Donegal. An overriding feeling exists that they have under-achieved in recent times.

“I guess you might say they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder,” McNulty admitted. “Under-performers, under-achievers, possibly, I’m not so sure, I haven’t really thought about it that much. You have to give huge credit for the work Seán Dempsey and Liam Kearns have done for bringing the team to the level they were at when I arrived.

“They have possibly been knocking on the door. It is better to get a team on the way up rather than the way down, for sure. It is certainly a factor but it is not the be all and end all.”