The phone-in talkback show on Highland Radio one day last year wasn't concerned with any issue of national importance, but it was one with which anybody involved in Gaelic football in any part of the country could feel a degree of empathy. The discussion was due to last 10 minutes; it went on for an hour and a half and, even then, they had to pull the plug. It could have gone on for longer, and those connected with the local station struggled to recall such an emotive sports debate, or such feedback from listeners.

GAA officials on the panel from Derry, Tyrone, Donegal and, most pertinently, Laois, were recalling antiquated systems of team selection, with five or even seven selectors involved in the decision-making process. About how young players were dragged along to meaningless trial games, and how some selector would make a judgment on the youngster based on just a few minutes runaround on a muddy pitch and cast him aside. How favouritism and cliques existed. The talk opened up many old wounds; and players who had suffered, and parents who'd watched their children suffer felt compelled to get it all off their chests.

The presence of a Laois man on the panel was particularly relevant. Few counties had suffered as much down the years from the old ways, antiquated habits that meant as many good 'uns slipped through the net as were caught. In Laois, they'll tell you that too many good young players escaped.

Change didn't come overnight, admittedly, but it did come. When it did, it arrived with a bang. Laois won the All-Ireland minor title in 1996, when beating Kerry in the final and, last year, became part of an elite group by beating Tyrone in the final to retain the crown. Back-to-back minor titles. This afternoon, Laois chase another All-Ireland championship when they take on Kerry at the Gaelic Grounds in the under-21 football final. Changed times indeed.

What happened to turn Laois from a hard-luck story into a modern-day success story?

The transformation from a county who couldn't put together a decent challenge, despite the undisputed presence of talented players, into one now able to offer advice (with a degree of smugness) to others stems from a change in focus some seven or eight years ago.

Cumann na mBunscoil, which looks after the school leagues, was reorganised, under the direction of Liam O'Neill, but, crucially, the county board put an increased emphasis on a youth policy. Indeed, most of the team that takes the field today for the under-21 final - Ian Fitzgerald and Niall Collins et al - have played together since under-14 level. Intriguingly, their success is already manifest in the presence of even younger players, like Leaving Certificate student Brian McDonald, who has another three years in the grade, in today's team.

In Laois, there are traditional hurling areas and traditional football areas. The restructuring of Cumann na mBunscoil meant the base was broadened. When Oliver Phelan got involved at under-14 and under-16 level back in 1991, the net was cast far and wide in the search for talent. "We called in all the clubs, got them to send in their best players and ensured that nobody was passed over," he recalls. "Up to then, and not through any malice, clubs in hurling areas wouldn't be even asked if they had a footballer." Equally importantly, men like Phelan, Garbiel Lawlor and Brian Delaney also listened to those out in the field. They respected advice. If a player was recommended to them, that player got every chance.

"I've seen good Laois teams down the years who lost out by the bounce of a ball, or who were missing maybe just a player or two," says Phelan. "When the base was broadened, it brought in maybe an extra player or two from the hurling area into football, and that was a big help. We also streamlined the selection set-up. There was a time that there would be five or more selectors with the minor team, but we brought it down to three."

The result has been remarkable. A Laois minor team hasn't lost a championship match for over two years (the latest batch off the conveyor belt started their campaign last week with a healthy win over Longford) and, now, the cycle is moving on to the under-21s. In time, just as it did in Meath, the senior side should benefit from the success. Lawlor, manager of the minor-winning team in 1996 and in charge of this year's under-21 side, claims a vital component in the jig-saw coming together was the backing of the county board. "In the past six or seven years, the board has given tremendous support to the juvenile programme."

Success, though, has brought a new sort of pressure. For today's match, Lawlor expects a huge following to make the journey "by train, car and bus" to Limerick. "There was a time when a Laois team would go out and lose by five or six points and people would still say you'd done well, but there is woeful pressure on them to win now," he says.

Phelan agrees. He was a co-selector with Lawlor in '96 and managed the team (which featured just two of the previous season's side) last year to their back-to-back win. This year, he's in charge of the minors again. "Even though they're a totally new team, people's expectations have increased so much that they're expected to win every time they go out to play," says Phelan.

Yet, Phelan sees a new attitude to the wearing of a Laois jersey, the type of attitude that only success can bring. "There's a tremendous pride in the Laois jersey, and there always has been. But, now, to wear the jersey is an important step in their lives."

The omens look good, and Phelan agrees that "we're fixed as good as anyone else to make a decent senior team" in a few years. He adds: "It's a matter of players maturing physically and, also, employment is a factor.

"I'm constantly amazed at the dedication of inter-county players, but they have to enjoy it as well. You don't want to give them more work on top of their jobs. It's hard on fellows who are working more than 50 miles away from their training base, or faced with a three-hour drive to train, so that's why employment becomes a factor at senior level."

For now, however, Laois continue to benefit from the decision to restructure the juvenile section earlier this decade. And, while the future looks brighter than it has ever been, the main focus of concern is the present and today's renewal of the battle with Kerry. It's an indication of the changed times that the huge army of Laois supporters travelling to the Gaelic Ground do so with a level of expectation never previously experienced within the county. They intend enjoying the good days while they're here.