With promotion to Division 1B of the Allianz Hurling League already secured, Laois are set to field an experimental line-up against London in their final regulation match at Ruislip on the weekend after next.

A 17-point victory over Meath in Portlaoise last Sunday confirmed the O'Moore County's promotion and a place in the Division 2 final ahead of the start of the Joe McDonagh Cup next month and a local derby with Carlow in the opening round.

“We’re going to give lads opportunities, simple as that,” Laois boss Tommy Fitzgerald told reporters.

“There are a lot of lads training hard in there every week putting their hand up, and we’ve used a lot of players in the league. Some lads haven’t got a chance yet, and we’ll have to give them that chance.”

The Portlaoise man also stressed the need for improvement, adding: “We’re happy in the sense that our target at the start of the year was to get out of Division 2 and that’s achieved now, but we’re still not happy where we’re at performance-wise.

“You can only beat what’s in front of you, but six weeks out (from the Joe McDonagh Cup), we’re going to have to be a lot better, and we know that. We had to get out of this division; we’ve done it, but we’re not naïve to think that performance will win too many Joe Mc games.”

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