Johnny Kelly looking to build on Faithful foundations

New Offaly manager Johnny Kelly says he is excited by what lies ahead for his team, but admits there is much work to be done to continue their upward trajectory.

The Portumna native replaces Michael Fennelly, who stood down in July after three seasons in charge, having served as a coach under the Kilkenny legend.

Having cruised to Christy Ring success last year, the Faithful County made the leap to top-flight hurling earlier this year, a big learning curve for a county that had been treading water away from the leading lights in the game.

Kelly will oversee a team in Division 2A and looking to progress in the Joe McDonagh campaign, with the takeaway last year being that the Faithful County have work to do to bridge the gap to the leading sides on the strength and conditioning side of things.

"The reality is Offaly have a bit to go on that front (fitness).," he told RTÉ's Saturday Sport. "Michael [Fennelly] got the ball rolling on that. It’s a mindset really to get the players to buy into it.

"That was the steepest learning curve. We went from playing in the Christy Ring championship to within six months playing the likes of Galway and Limerick in 1A. When you see the fitness levels of these teams, it’s just an eye-opener for everyone involved.

"It’s an area that continues to improve in Offaly, but further work is needed."

"It's a new year and a new panel needs to be picked over the coming weeks."

Kelly is no stranger to success at club level, involved as a coach and manager in back-to-back All-Ireland titles for his native Portumna and led Coolderry to an Offaly senior title in 2015.

In 2019 he managed Borris-Ileigh to a first Tipperary title since 1986 and a provincial title was added for good measure.

He is excited about what