Galway manager Conor Hayes tells Ian O'Riordan his team are being primed for a serious push to win the league

For evidence of the fresh swagger in Galway hurling you might want to start with the last Sunday in February, that intercalary day when Kilkenny came to Pearse Stadium and a game that would ultimately define league form.

There was something about Galway that afternoon. Composed aggression matched with naked spirit. Kilkenny chased hard until the end but 18 clean points were enough to hold them off. It was like manager Conor Hayes had finally found his feet, and a reason to feel optimistic.

"That day against us in Pearse Stadium," he says, "Kilkenny really went all out. Waterford had beaten them and they came here to beat us. And I can tell you they were very, very competitive. We put an awful lot into that game because it was a big home game for us, and we just wanted to win it.

"And in fairness, Kilkenny threw everything at us. I was actually shocked that they could still have the hunger to come out in the league and try so hard not to be beaten. I remember from going through it in my own time as a player that you'd always be trying to save yourself a little for the championship. Kilkenny don't seem to know how to save themselves."

With Kilkenny now consigned to the lower section of the league, Galway press on - with one eye fixed firmly on that new league crowning on May 9th. Tomorrow they host Cork in the first match of phase two and it should provide that final piece of evidence. Cork will be going all out to win and Galway won't want to lose. Watch for the swagger.

It's one thing for a team to be ready to win a National League. It's something else to be ready, able and desperate to win. Galway enjoy a fair share of all three. Hayes is not expecting the final crossing to be smooth yet it is a journey he's prepared for and eager to embrace.

"The way we look at it, it's almost knockout at this stage. After Cork we've got Tipperary and Limerick and it's difficult to see where you might get an easy game there. What we'll try very hard to do is to win our home games and see where that leaves us. And if we do lose the one after that we still might get there with a bit of luck, a little like the Galway footballers did.

"We won our last two games against Waterford and Laois relatively easily, and that's always good and bad. You can get a little complacent. But everyone knows that when you're playing Cork in the last phase of the league you can't be complacent, or they'll just take you apart. But we need another good measure of where we're at, and you'll always get that against Cork."

Galway's lack of meaningful success in recent years hardly warrants recall. They last captured the league in 1996 by beating Tipperary, but it's coming up on 16 years now since they last topped the All-Ireland stage, back in the days when Hayes was both captain and indomitable at full back. Everyone associated with hurling in the county needs reacquainting with success.

"We are pushing hard to make that league final," says Hayes, "definitely. First of all, it would suit us because we're not out again in the championship until at least a month after that.

"And if I was say Anthony Daly or Justin McCarthy it would be different, because they are out the following week in the championship. So to be honest, I feel Clare and Waterford might start easing back a bit at this stage.

"So it's no big deal for us to be making a big push. We should be fishing for it and to be honest, we are. I think in the last few years Galway did step back a bit from the league. And that has been to our detriment. In some ways the championship does still come up very quickly and you can find yourself in a situation where you don't have an established team, or don't have some sort of rhythm going. And you can get caught out as a result."

The impression now is that Hayes has got a well-settled team on his plate. Young players like Tony O'Regan and David Hayes are progressively coming of age and there is still enough experience around in Ollie Canning and the Kerins brothers, Mark and Alan, to polish them.

Tomorrow he'll start with the same team that beat Laois - the first time all season he's not tempted to try at least something new.

"In fact I think that's the first time I've done that as a manager. And that probably is some sign of the way we're settling down. It's a small panel in some ways, but we still have a lot of players fighting for places. And we've had a fairly good run, besides going a little astray against Clare. We've been putting up big scores, and I think that is a fair indication that things are going quite well for us.

"And yeah, I did want to settle things down a little. We tried out a lot of players last year, and a lot of different teams, and I suppose at the end of all that you can get a little bit confused about some of them.

"So I'd be hopeful now that the players that have been doing well for us so far will continue to do so, and that would be another boost for us, knowing players are in form going into the championship."

Much of the team's high scoring is owed to Eugene Cloonan, who has regained his killer edge in the forward line. But around him Damien Hayes continues to mature at wondrous pace. Kevin Broderick is still coming back to full fitness and there are also fresh faces coming on the scene, such as David Collins.

It's been said that Hayes has a more laid-back approach than some Galway managers of recent years, and no less than the more aggressive sort, that takes getting used to. When he was voted in as manager in November of 2002 he never denied his lack of true experience at county management, and his selectors Pearse Piggott and Gerry Dempsey also had their bit to learn.

"It has been a lot different this season, in that last year we set out to try and find some new players if we could, and that meant trying out different teams. But then the whole league format was a new adventure last year and it was difficult to gauge how competitive it would be. I think this year has been a lot more competitive and I think we were prepared for that. So we always knew what was ahead of us this year. We identified games we had to win, and what we'd have to do if we didn't win them.

"I suppose as manager you're always under that bit of pressure. But at the same time I feel a bit more aware of what's ahead, certainly compared to last year. I remember last year we went into this phase of the league to play Tipperary, Cork and Wexford. And I suppose we didn't know what to expect.

"This year we have been preparing the team for three very competitive games ahead. And that means not holding back, but putting it all into it, and not being afraid to push ourselves. And I think we are that bit more confident than last year."

Confidence might well have been the key component lacking with Galway last summer. Their downfall against Tipperary on home ground was far from a collapse, more an underperformance. Yet no matter what happens over the next three weeks - and possibly four - Hayes won't easily forget what he saw in the Kilkenny team back in February.

"In a way I would prefer to see them still in here, keeping busy, rather than thinking they're away some place for a big comeback. But right now I think Cork and Tipperary are the two main teams in form.

"I mean I'd be hoping more than anything that Kilkenny are in decline. But it must be hard for them. I can't figure out how they still have the hunger to come out every weekend and still play such competitive games.

"I just don't know if they'll be as good as they were again this year. But they do still have a lot of players to bring in, and they have a very strong back-up panel. If one or two of their forwards such as Henry Shefflin or even DJ Carey really lost their form they could be in trouble, but I'd still never rule them out."

But that's talk for another day. There's a path open to the league final without Kilkenny in the way and that'senough for now.