Stephen 'Picky' Maher says Laois have achieved their main goal for the Allianz League with today's victory over Antrim at MW Hire O'Moore Park.
The result guarantees them Division 1 hurling for another year after they sneaked a one-point win in a game they were outsiders for before throw in.
Cha Dwyer got the critical score deep into injury time and it means that the O'Moore men can't be caught by the Saffrons with just one game left to play.
Even if Antrim were to beat Tipperary in their final game, and Laois lost to Dublin, they would still finish bottom of the table owing to their head-to-head record with Laois. They will play the bottom side in Group A, which is likely to be Offaly.
Maher hit two points from play, as well as six from placed balls, and told RTÉ's Sunday Sport that this was the game they had been targeting.
"It's all about digging deep and going to the final whistle," he said.
"We've been questioned during the week by our own supporters but you have to have that 'never say die' attitude.
"It was always going to come down to this game and we're delighted to get out on the right side. Antrim were definitely the favourites and their three performances have been very good.
"Our three haven't been so good but it all comes down to today's performance. Obviously, you don't want to see the likes of Antrim going down, they're a progressing team."
Laois took a six-point lead into the break but would fall behind late on as Antrim threatened a victory.
Jack Kelly received his marching orders for striking out with the hurl, and it looked like the momentum was with the visitors when they took the lead as the game approached full-time.
"We knew they'd have a purple patch with the wind in the second half," Maher continued.
"Six points at half time was never going to be enough. It looked like the game was going away from us but then PJ had that huge free and then Cha - he didn't even look at the posts but thank God it went over - and we were able to grind it out until the end."
Asked about staying in the top flight, Maher added: "That was our goal at the start of the year. We knew it was going to be a difficult league. We want to stay in this division and that's exactly what we've done."
