Leinster SFC Final Replay: When they came within 60 seconds of losing their Leinster title the Laois footballers had reason to fear some reprimand. God knows how many laps Mick O'Dwyer would have them running to knock some sense back into them. It could be some whipping.

Summoned to training the following night, they duly received their orders from O'Dwyer. They'd be heading for the swimming pool, gentle wading only. Following that they'd have a good feed, bit of a chat, and then watch a video. Ah, the life of an intercounty footballer.

When Westmeath came within that same 60 seconds of winning their first Leinster title they had reason to fear something similar from Páidí Ó Sé. Like his old mentor, Ó Sé doesn't rest well on missed opportunities. His immediate command was to get to the swimming pool and chill. And same as in Laois, the instruction for the next week was rest and relaxation.

So went the aftermath of last Sunday's draw in Croke Park. Clearly, the six days preceding this evening's replay haven't involved beating players into better shape. It's been a time of reflection, for players to identify any weakness, for remotivation, and being careful not to even brush the teeth too hard. Olympic athletes adopt similar tactics when trying to preserve energy between their heats and finals.

Time too for the managers to think hard about new ways of outsmarting the other. O'Dwyer versus Ó Sé, round two. They're the ones with most responsibility to convince the players they didn't miss the chance of winning last Sunday - they merely deferred it.

Laois selector Declan O'Loughlin watched O'Dwyer address his players this week and appeared to find fresh confidence even himself: "Micko is a very, very positive man. He's been portraying that all week, saying it was great to be still involved. Everything has focused on the positive.

"Of course there's not much else you can do this week. You can't do any more training. But you can certainly go over the mistakes. And after we watched the video on Monday night Micko went through the various strengths and weaknesses of the drawn game.

"There may have been an element of overconfidence going in last Sunday. We wouldn't like to think that existed, but it's difficult to measure. But I know Micko doesn't tolerate complacency, and it certainly wasn't anything major. So we'd be confident again going in the second time. There's no point in going up without confidence."

For some observers of last Sunday's game the conclusion was that Westmeath had lost their chance. They might struggle to play so well again, while Laois show more obvious potential. Westmeath selector Tomás Ó Flatharta has seen his old friend Ó Sé tell his players the exact opposite.

"I know that Páidí is a great motivator and he's doing that again with Westmeath," says Ó Flatharta. "But everybody tries to figure out Páidí, and what makes him different. And he is different.

"His main strength is that he's been there before so often as a player and knows exactly what is required. But then that only goes so far. It's when the players go out onto the field, that's what counts. They have the responsibility out there, and they've done that all season for Páidí.

"And if you look back over the game we had the better opportunities to win it at the end. It just didn't happen for us. But then it was going our way one minute and their way another. So maybe a draw was a fair result in that regard."

One guarantee that comes with a replay is that it won't be the same sort of game as the draw; something will change. The difficulty is making sure the change is for the better. When the Laois players looked back over the video they see some clear room for improvement.

"Overall we just felt we didn't give the proper ball into the forwards," explained O'Loughlin. "That definitely didn't work out. I suppose that's due credit to the Westmeath midfielders. They're big, strong men and didn't allow us much composure on the ball.

"And we also felt our lads lost some of their rhythm at certain stages. Between the fifth and 17th minutes we played some of our best football, and went from a point down to four points up. We also missed a 35-metre free during that time.

"Then we lost our momentum a little. It was the same for the first 12 minutes of the second half, where we played some vintage football and went two points up. Again we missed an easy free. So we did have several opportunities to pull ahead and just didn't.

"And I think we have some damn good forwards if we get enough ball. So I think we have the greater power to improve. It was like Westmeath threw everything they had at us."

Westmeath, of course, see it differently. In fact Ó Flatharta says it was Laois who threw everything at them: "For the first 20 minutes they were certainly showing no lack of hunger. And Mick O'Dwyer clearly has one of the best teams in the country.

"They're all very fit and great runners and didn't give anything up too easy.

"And it was a very fast-moving game. If players didn't come out of it with a little bruising then they wouldn't have participated. But we've just done two light sessions this week. The players are fit enough, so the most important thing was the recovery.

"And they'll go out again looking to improve in every position. To play the best they can and leave nothing to chance - and maybe not allow Laois such a good start this time."

Both O'Dwyer and Ó Sé have likely more than enough fire left in them to motivate their players for this evening. For Westmeath the news last week that Rory O'Connell had become available was interpreted as an extra spur. Ó Flatharta put the record straight.

"To be honest, we hadn't discussed Rory O'Connell's situation at all at training, even last week. The way we prepared for the game was that we didn't have him at all."

O'Connell will start at midfield this time, the only change from last Sunday. According to O'Loughlin, Laois have picked an even better team this time out. The lines are drawn. And no one has dared mention the T word - the qualifier date with the All-Ireland champions that is the consolation prize.

"Get the gun ready - we're going to set traps," Muhammad Ali said about his rematch with Joe Frazier.

Croke Park has a similar gun loaded for this evening.