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 to get one back this year."
Fennelly added: "In my final year we did focus on bringing in younger players, to try and get them a year’s experience, to get athletic development into them and get them up to the pace of the game.
"Their panel is young, which is very positive. With them two gelling together in the next couple of years, they will be stronger and competing at a higher level.
"Will they be challenging for a Leinster final? I’d probably struggle to see that at the minute, in terms of the next couple of years. But they’ll definitely climb that ladder, I’ve no doubt about that.
"What Offaly need, and I said this last year, is another strong minor team, and another the year after. You need those good quality players coming through.
"Just one green shoot, that’s not sustainability. You need teams coming over the years. Hopefully more will come."
Fennelly still harbours hopes of a return to inter-county management but, with their third child due next week, those ambitions are being shelved for the time being. "There’ll be three boys under the age of four so it won’t give me much time to do coaching!"
He has, however, been watching plenty of matches over the past few months and is looking forward to taking on a part-time performance lead role with Kilkenny, which involves working with coaches and providing player pathways for the county’s minor and U20 panels.
Watch highlights of Kilkenny's Leinster Championship win over Antrim
Kilkenny’s senior side have made a positive start to their Leinster Championship campaign, with two wins and a draw from their opening three games, and can move a step closer to a provincial final with victory over Dublin on Saturday.
It is early days for the Cats under manager Derek Lyng but Fennelly feels they are progressing well.
The eight-time All-Ireland winner said: "They got to a league final and got to have a crack off Limerick. There was no expectation really from Kilkenny people on that game, or even the country. Limerick were hot favourites.
"Just to get a good game like that was important at that time because some of the league games weren’t up to the standard you’d be hoping for to prepare for championship. That was positive.
"Inside Nowlan Park against Galway, who looked quite impressive in the first half, they faded away quite quickly in the second and Kilkenny got on top and controlled the game. The end result was a draw but Kilkenny were probably the better team on the day. That was positive to see.
"They’ve looked after business quite well in their other games. They’ve Dublin now on Saturday and Wexford the following weekend. Things are moving on, as they do.
"It’s not as competitive as Munster to be fair, sometimes you’ve a competitive game and the next one mightn’t be as competitive. There’s a bit of downtime for Kilkenny there and obviously they can prepare in training accordingly, and get more into their sessions."
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