Michael Fennelly delighted to see Offaly continue progressing

Michael Fennelly says Offaly have continued to progress since his departure as manager last summer but they must continue to bring through young talent if they are to return to the top table in hurling.

Offaly narrowly missed out on a place in the Joe McDonagh Cup final last year but they have gone one better this season and will face Carlow in the decider on 27 May. The Faithful County also secured promotion back to Division 1 at the first attempt, while their U20s contested the Leinster final on Wednesday evening.

Fennelly is delighted to see Offaly continue their upward trajectory but warned there is still a long way to go before they can close the gap on the leading counties.

"I would have spoken to local journalists over the years and said we needed to reignite a culture in Offaly, and when I do leave I want to leave it in a healthy place," said Fennelly, speaking at the launch of this year's Electric Ireland All-Ireland Championships.

"What is healthy? Some people look at it as success, winning finals, but you need the ingredients there too. You need good people in there to support the team. You need the players training at a higher level.

"Even being in Division 1 last year, as difficult as it was in terms of the games, we would have done a lot of video analysis after those games to actually learn what's not going well and what is, and bring that forward, whether it's two months or a year down the line.

"The more we can educate the players, the better it potentially can be over the coming years. That’s how I always looked at it.

"it’s massively positive to see them moving on. They’re a step further now than last year. Carlow knocked us out last year in what essentially was a semi-final. I’d say the lads will be looking