Wexford's revival under Davy Fitzgerald hasn't come as a surprise to former Laois sharpshooter Willie Hyland.

Hyland, who was forced to retire with a hip injury at the age of just 28 last year, knows all about the former Clare goalkeeper's meticulous planning and attention to detail from his time playing under him at UL.

"He's always looking for an edge in terms of preparation. When we were in LIT all you brought was your boots, hurl and helmet. You had your two sets of training gear laid out for you, and small things like that make a difference," the Clough-Ballacolla clubman told the Irish Independent.

"He's very much into the analysis of the game and studying other teams and tactics; his teams are very hard to break down and he creates a buzz wherever he goes and that's what's happening in Wexford. He's brought them to a new level."

While Wexford are widely expected to beat Laois in O'Moore Park on Sunday and set up a Leinster SHC semi-final showdown with Kilkenny, Hyland isn't ruling out an upset. 

"I hurled with a lot of good players in Laois, but the difference is now we seem to be producing a lot of good forwards," he said.

"We're good going forward but I do worry about us at the back a bit, we seem to score heavily but concede heavily as well. It'll be interesting to see if Davy plays with a sweeper or not against Laois; if he does it might play into our hands and if we can hold Conor McDonald and Lee Chin then we'll give ourselves a chance.

"We have to earn people's respect and maybe we haven't over the past few years but these are the games you're judged upon and I'd be quietly confident that the lads could maybe pull off a shock."

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