Joe Murphy's initial foray into inter-county management was nothing if not dramatic.
Having won five Leinster club titles with Éire Óg in the nineties, he quickly went about stockpiling silverware as a manager, firstly with his home club where he led them to four county titles on the bounce. A late Ballyboden rally in 2019 denied them the chance to become the first Carlow club to annex the province in 19 years.
He followed that success outside county bounds with three successive Kildare championships with Naas. In his three years in charge, the only team to beat Naas in championship action was Dublin champions, Kilmacud Crokes on all three occasions.
"My father always said to me, it's better to be a lucky general than a good one. I guess I was fortunate with the teams I have been involved in," he tells RTÉ Sport.
When Shane Curran stepped away at the end of a mixed league campaign almost 12 months ago citing "player-related issues", Murphy had just a week with the panel ahead of the Leinster championship opener against Meath.
His comments to local radio station KCLR 96FM indicated there was significant room for improvement.
"I thought things were sloppy in a lot of the way we went around our business," he said last summer. I didn't think we looked like a county team in our attire and the way that we presented ourselves at training, we wanted to get the optics right first. You are what you represent."
The Royals eased to a 14-point win and while Carlow regrouped in the Tailteann Cup – the opening round success against eventual semi-finalists Fermanagh the highlight before bowing out at the quarter-final stage – Murphy had a clear picture of what they needed to do in order to get where they want to go.
"A lot of what we're doing is just about a mindset, reassurance to the players that they're still playing as hard as anyone else, their abilities match up with anyone given the right requirements, preparation and structure," he says.
There hasn’t been a significant overhaul in the playing panel from last year – "we probably have about 80% of the panel that was there when I came in" and Murphy admits that Carlow is no different to any other county in that some club players simply can’t make the commitment to inter-county level.
And he’s not going chasing; you’re in or you’re not.
"If you're not 100% committed, you're going to be found out," he says. "There are players in Carlow that are well capable of playing with the county team that are not just available, but success breeds success as well, so if Carlow are going well, then the pull to be part of that is stronger than ever.
"I certainly wouldn't be going out and reaching out to players to try and entice them in. I think that's a loss leader straight away. You have to embrace it and be enthusiastic about coming in, and if you're not, then maybe it's just not for you.
With a relatively small playing pool (the senior, intermediate and junior championship all consist of eight teams), there are few players Murphy and his backroom team have not taken a good luck at.
One of the changes he has made has been to tap into the Carlow DNA in an effort to resonate more with players and supporters alike. Murphy’s management team is made up entirely of Carlow natives.
"I thought it was important that we had that sort of emotional attachment," he explains. "They’re already emotionally invested in the Carlow jersey. That's healthy.
This year’s league schedule threw up opening assignments against two sides tipped by many to earn promotion. The long journey to Antrim felt shorter on the way home with Ronan Quinn’s late goal earning two away points while that was backed up a week later when they edged out Wicklow on home soil.
A wind-assisted 10-point turnaround against Tipperary was further testament to the resilience that Murphy has tried to instil through belief. Only the last outing – victory over winless Waterford with 14 points to spare – has lacked serious jeopardy coming down the stretch.
Sunday’s hosts Longford are hoping it’s a case of third time lucky at Glennon Bros Pearse Park this campaign in an effort to pick up a home win, though two points could propel them into the top-two.
Murphy acknowledges there is a "bit more noise" around his team as one of only four teams left in the country with a 100% record, but hasn’t given serious thought to a league final date at Croke Park.
"You have to earn the right to be there (league final). We genuinely haven’t discussed it once.
"We’re still a work in progress. Come five o'clock Sunday, we'll be able to reflect more where we are and what's going on."
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