The first thing I noticed about the Offaly players when I arrived was that they were all able to hurl. They could strike the ball well, hit it on the ground, hit it left and right and were able to take points from all angles.

I asked how they had acquired these talents and was told it went back to Diarmuid Healy's time and the style he had brought to the county.

The Dooleys, Johnny Pilkington and Brian Whelahan are all versatile and it was obvious they could play in a number of positions. It's the trend in modern hurling.

You no longer have fellas who can only play in one position. Players have to be mobile and it was something which struck me about Offaly, that they could switch around, they were flexible.

Offaly is on the border with Tipperary and they manage to mix the Munster style of hurling - which is very direct - with the Kilkenny brand, which is more about wrist-work, flicks, lovely ball control and which Healy helped to introduce.

At their best, Offaly are so simple and direct and the understanding between them is so good. When Joe Dooley gets the ball and flicks it back, Johnny Dooley will just be there to take it.

They didn't develop these skills as they got older, they picked them up early. Brother Denis in Birr would have had a lot to do with that. You very rarely see so many All-Ireland winning minors coming through to win a couple of senior All-Irelands.

By the time I took over Offaly, they were mostly the finished article. I emphasised ground hurling a little more, batting the ball and the need for forwards to defend, but otherwise they had all the skills. This is a great basis for versatility.

Michael Duignan has played everywhere and was very good at wing back when they won the All-Ireland two years ago. Joe Dooley always plays in the forwards, but has been an excellent centre back for his club and then you've someone like John Troy who started in goal.

There are times when managers just have to gamble and that's when you find out how really versatile players are.

It's also the way the game is gone. Like Jack Charlton used to say about the Irish soccer team, when you don't have the ball you put the opposition under pressure.

In the semi-final against Cork, Offaly did that. Their forwards put Cork under pressure and forced them to clear high ball down the field which wasn't what the forwards wanted.

When I played there wasn't the same onus on forwards to defend. You chased and harried a bit, but it wasn't unusual to see a backman coming out and the forwards letting him off. There wasn't the same emphasis on defending deep.

Basically, an attacker's objective is to score and a back has to defend, but there are less obvious responsibilities. The job is far more difficult than a back's.

He has his back to goal and can expect to get the butt of a hurl, a knee, a dig in his back. With this going on he has to win his ball, turn and head for goal.

Good players master the different demands easily, but there's also the matter of the attitude. A forward waits for the break and goes for the score.

A back watches his man and the ball and, when in possession, has to change his mental approach and hit accurate ball into the forwards.

I switched from attack to centre back for the 1973 All-Ireland and played there for a couple of years afterwards. There was no problem adjusting because I played a lot of hurling at centre back for my club and was familiar with the demands.

It can be refreshing for a player to move around. Michael Duignan moves around a lot because he tends to raise the game in whatever sector he's switched to.

Even as a sub in '94, he rose the tempo when he came on. Yet he doesn't play that differently wherever he goes.

Johnny Dooley's career was also revitalised by the move to centrefield. I remember him saying that he thought he had only two years left because of his knee problems, but that was four years ago.

He's a tremendous attacking centrefielder and the way he puts ball over the bar left and right is tremendous to watch.

Other switches are more of a risk. Brian Whelahan's move into the forwards was a real gamble, but he has tremendous speed and control.

Any team that sees him coming up will probably panic a little, but it's still a last resort because his best position is by far at wing back. But the change suits him from time to time.

Joe Errity is a very good hurler. He'd have been the automatic number three if Kevin Kinahan wasn't there. He told me once that he didn't care where he played as long as he was on the team.

That was when we moved him up to full forward and he made a big impact there. He's a really versatile player.

I think this happens so much in Offaly because they don't have the huge pick that counties like Kilkenny have and so they have to make do with about 20 players and move them around. It's not a problem because good players don't mind where they play.