Seamus Plunkett wasn't surprised by how well Laois played against Galway.

Hammered by Dublin and Limerick in last year's championship, the O'Moore's have improved dramatically since Plunkett became manager at the start of this season and they gave last year's All-Ireland runners-up a huge fright before succumbing to a 1-13 to 2-17 defeat.

"It didn't take this match for me to be proud of these Laois players," 'Cheddar' told the Irish Daily Star.

"I was as proud of them coming off the field in Tullamore against Dublin last year. I felt for them.

"I know these players, I know their character, I know what they are made of. This doesn't come as a surprise to me. We do need to build up a bit of experience, but over time that will happen."

He added: "I'm not interested in moral victories or anything like that. I wouldn't say what I have been saying about this county if I didn't think we were going to win matches. It's important to bear in mind we are only building and developing a team here.

"Along that journey we're going to be playing some tier one counties. We'll learn a lot of things as we go along. In a year's time or so, we'll be a competitive team." Tweet

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