Tailteann Cup Final Preview: Justin McNulty readies his Laois GAA footballers for Down battle

Laois Senior football manager Justin McNulty will stand on the Croke Park sideline for the third time in 2024 as he prepares his side to face Down in this year’s Tailteann Cup final on Saturday.

“We're moving along, a week out. Hugely excited, under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge we face but looking forward to it. I'm very, very excited about it. I'm excited about the opportunity to learn and grow and develop as a team and I'm really excited about exploring our full potential as a group,” he said.

McNulty is fully focused on ensuring Laois delivers a performance that he and the players can be proud of against Down. He emphasised that he’s ‘not interested in silverware or trophies’ and that the performance is what matters most.

“We're focused entirely on our performance. We're not interested in silverware or trophies. We love playing in Croke Park as does every Gaelic footballer from when they're knee-high. We're looking forward to the experience and hopefully performing at a level we can be proud of,” McNulty said.

Laois faced a tough defeat by Down in the 2023 Tailteann Cup semi-finals, but McNulty acknowledges that both teams have likely improved since then and expects Saturday’s game to be much closer.

“Down obviously heavily defeated Laois last year and we hope we have improved since then. We're hopeful that can be demonstrated through our performance next week. How much have we improved? We'll see on Saturday. Down have different players, Laois have different players. Every county has different players from last year so there's no real focus or emphasis on last year, we're talking about next Saturday. That's our laser focus, it's entirely on Saturday coming,” he said.

Laois enters the final with only one major injury concern, with St Joseph’s Mikie Dempsey having injured his cruciate before the Antrim game in the semi-final. McNulty recognizes that injuries are part of the game and sees it as an opportunity for someone else to step up.

“Thankfully, a clean bill of health. We've had a bit of a setback with Mike Dempsey, he’s done his cruciate. It's a big blow for us. That's the power for the course in terms of injuries do happen of that nature. We're sorry to be without Mikie but we have a squad and we have confidence in the players in the squad, somebody else will step up to the mark,” McNulty noted.

Competition for starting places is intense, and McNulty commended his players for their work rate and commitment.

“There's huge competitiveness, not alone for the starting players but for places in the playing panel and the matchday panel. Everybody knows that there are important links in the chain and everybody has an opportunity to step up. It's the same with every dressing room. You have players who are competing to get game time and players who are really competing to deliver their best performance. That's what we want. We're proud that our fellas have demonstrated a huge commitment. Their work ethic is exemplary and we're very proud of that. Hopefully, that will carry through in terms of delivering a performance this Saturday,” he said.

McNulty concluded with praise for Saturday’s opponents, noting the many strengths they possess, particularly Pat Havern, Daniel Guinness, and Odhran Murdock. He also expressed his respect for Down's manager, Conor Laverty, and his achievements.

“We're conscious that Down have an extraordinarily strong kicking game, an extraordinarily strong running game. They've got firepower coming from all positions, serious firepower over the park, serious athleticism, serious conditioning and coming to terms with trying to cope with their threat coming from all positions is going to be a tough, tough exercise for us. We have huge respect for them, for the Down players, huge respect for the Down manager.

“Me, having gone to school in Down, I've played with a lot of great Down players, played against a lot of Down players. I have huge respect for what Conor Laverty has done with the Down team. Obviously, as a Kilcoo player and leader, he's won an All-Ireland. For a small rural club to achieve that is enormous. Meenagh, obviously with Derry last year, they were within the knock of door of getting to All-Ireland glory.

“We're conscious that we're really, really up against it but at the same time, we're very excited about the possibility of showing how good we can be in the cauldron of Croke Park. That's what our entire laser focus is on. Dealing with the high-calibre players they have. Havern is a phenomenal full forward, a beast of a man and almost unstoppable when he's on his game. Midfield, Murdoch is a powerhouse midfielder. Their centre-back Guinness just comes on the end of things and is a fantastically well-rounded footballer who knows how to play the game. They've pace threats all over the park as well, which will have a really tough time coming to terms with but again, as I said, we're excited about the challenge and being the best we can be,” McNulty ended.