Justin McNulty says it's 'too soon' to discuss Laois future after Tailteann Cup exit
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The Laois boss opened up on his side's disappointing display, the season as a whole and what comes next
The Laois senior footballers saw their 2026 season come to an end in Portlaoise as Down beat them by 14 points in the Tailteann Cup quarter-finals.
Speaking after the game, Laois manager Justin McNulty expressed his disappointment with his side’s performance after putting in such a strong effort throughout the campaign. He admitted Laois’ display was a bit flat and said they could not be proud of a performance like that. He also spoke of his pride in the commitment shown by everyone involved.
“Very disappointed for the lads, they've put in an enormous effort this season. Came from a position where nobody expected anything and I think they've done themselves proud across the season. Today's performance and today's result weren't ones we can be happy about, but it was an enormous effort from the players, the whole management team and the coaching team all season long. Everybody stuck together and fought together. Ultimately, we fell a bit flat today and didn't deliver a performance that we can be any way proud of. It's just very disappointing for the lads, for the amount of effort they've put in this season to then have a performance like today, which wasn't what we can be proud of,” he said.
Down raced into an early lead and led 1-6 to 0-1 after just nine minutes. Laois could only manage to get within eight points at any stage.
“We didn't lay a glove on them. That's how I'd describe the performance. Even though we won the kick-out battle overall, but we weren't efficient in possession and we weren't efficient in front of goal. They were able to break through us relatively easily and pick off their scores. We couldn't be productive up front and that's what the sport's about now. It's about productivity and efficiency and we weren't today; they were,” McNulty said.
Down are the favourites to lift the Tailteann Cup again and McNulty could see their superiority on show on Saturday.
“Today, they were superior, they were well organised and methodical in terms of how they played. We made it easy for them in many ways and we weren't on our game in too many positions on the pitch. But at the same time, we still kept fighting and it's just our efficiency in possession and our efficiency in front of goal weren't where it needed to be,” he said.
Laois came into the game off the back of a three-week break after winning their first two games and progressing straight to the quarter-finals. Down, on the other hand, lost to Offaly in Round 1 before coming through Round 2B, which gave them another match in Round 3 last weekend. McNulty felt that gave Down an advantage, but said it was not the only reason for Laois’ defeat.
“I think so, no question. If you were to do it again, you'd almost go through the back door way and then go through the front door way. It seems to be an advantage, I think that it definitely suited them. They were able to try things out and test things where we didn't get as many opportunities to do that. Certainly, that was an advantage, but not the only reason either,” he added.
Laois had a decent 2026 season, finishing mid-table in Division 3 while also reaching the Leinster quarter-finals and the Tailteann Cup quarter-finals. However, the Laois boss acknowledged that Saturday’s defeat would overshadow those achievements because of the manner in which Down beat them.
“This does make it look bad; there's no question and we all feel that. That's what the huge disappointment is. A huge disappointment for the Laois people who came out in force today to support their county and to see the level of performance that we delivered today. It wasn't where we expected to be and we're disappointed about that,” he said.
When appointed ahead of the 2024 season, McNulty was given a three-year term, which he has now completed. He said it was too soon to discuss whether he would still be Laois manager next year and reflected on what it had meant to work with the players and management team.
“Too soon to discuss that. I was planning to be still involved for next week and sadly we got a big dunt and that's not going to happen. It's been a real privilege and honour to work with this group of players and with the management team. They have given enormous effort as I say and been extraordinarily professional and stayed tight, stayed together and kept fighting together. Who are all very determined to succeed as a team and to do their county proud. That's a privilege and an honour for me and too soon to discuss that,” he concluded.