HURLING/Focus on Meath hurlers: Seán Moran talks to Meath manager Michael Duignan about his side's shock win over Laois

Meath's surprise win over Laois in the Leinster hurling championship means that Michael Duignan's first step into management since retiring as an Offaly player is already a success. The county is now guaranteed two more matches this championship, which will take them into the middle of June at least. Sunday's victory was achieved in the dying moments with a goal from Micky Cole and sets up a match with Dublin.

"It looked like we'd blown it," said Duignan yesterday. "Overall I thought we were better but we made some terrible mistakes. Nicky Horan went for a goal from a close-in free and then we conceded a point after trying a quick puck-out. They nearly cost us the match but I was pleased with the performance and there were some great scores from the sidelines and wings. But we were a bit jittery."

Duignan hadn't gone to Thurles the previous week to watch Laois winning the Division Two final against Antrim but knew enough about the team to make certain tactical judgments. One was to switch Nicky Horan from centrefield to full forward to put pressure on Laois's best player Niall Rigney who has been filling it at full back in the absence of the suspended Paul Cuddy. Rigney came out to centre back and scored a point before Horan was dispatched to follow him.

Although Meath were underdogs, the county spent the National League campaign in Division One and had finished well despite being relegated at the end of the season. A less than convincing win over Carlow contrasted with Laois's Division Two title win but Duignan had been optimistic going into the match.

"I thought if we played to the best of our ability we'd have a chance because there's a lot more hurling in the team than they've shown. It's been a question of getting them to believe in themselves, that they could win."

Good performances against Galway, Offaly and Derry rounded off Meath's league fixtures but otherwise life in the top division was a struggle with several heavy defeats. "We finished it well," says Duignan, "but I had thought we'd be competitive all the way through and that's not the way it turned out. I was surprised at first at how dispirited they got in matches, which wasn't like Meath. But they were like strangers coming in from their clubs whereas I'd been used in Offaly to a club spirit at county level.

"After three hammerings I learned a lot and tried to build a team spirit. So we went away together and organised some golf outings and things have steadily improved. They're actually more committed than we would have been in Offaly. In Meath there's no great glory in hurling. These lads have to love the game to be playing it all.

"Training has gone particularly well with about 90 per cent of the panel present for every session since we started back on 6th December. Johnny Murray's doing the training. I worked with him when Babs was in charge in Offaly and he's very good."

Duignan says that he hadn't any illusions when taking the job. "I was fairly aware of the set-up but to be honest I jumped in without too much thought because I'd just finished playing. Maybe if I'd thought about it too much I wouldn't have taken it. But as soon as my playing career was over I missed the camaraderie."

Regardless of how the championship run goes, Meath are entered into the All-Ireland B competition. "I want to keep the panel together over the summer," says Duignan. "We can do more in June, July and August than at any time over the rest of the year."