Laois defender Mark Timmons has likened the emergence of Carlow to his own county in 2003.

That year, the O'Moore County were crowned the Leinster senior football champions and this brought a massive buzz around the county; helping to reinvigorate football in Laois.

Timmons can see the same happening in his neighbouring county and hailing from Graiguecullen means that he has a ring side seat to what's happening at the moment.

The experienced defender knows that Carlow will come to Croke Park on Sunday in a confident mood and even though Laois have beaten them twice in the league this year, Timmons stressed to the Carlow Nationalist that they cannot afford to take the Barrowsiders for granted.

"It is kind of similar to 2003 when Laois were on the crest of a wave and Croke Park was nearly full of blue and white. So anytime you were driving up from Graigue, there were flags everywhere," said Timmons.

"Carlow are probably going through the same model that we went through back then. So it is positive for them and the two games we would have played against them, we know they are a very good team.

"For a Graigue lad, the games against Carlow are always very big regardless of how both teams are doing. The situation down there is unique because we are so close to the town."

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