Seamus ‘Cheddar’ Plunkett has unexpectedly resigned as manager of the Laois Senior Hurling team, citing personal reasons for his decision.
Selector Ger Cunningham will take charge as interim boss for the Leinster SHC quarter-final against Midland rivals Offaly in O’Moore Park on June 7.
It is believed that Plunkett made a decision to step aside after some of the Laois squad lined out in a club game on Monday night.
It came just over 24 hours after Laois booked a place in the last-seven, following a group stages win over Westmeath, which also saw the Lake County advance.
In a statement, the Laois County Board said it "would like to thank Seamas for his contribution to Laois hurling over the last number of years and look forward to working with him again in the near future."
Laois have seen a major turnaround in their fortunes since Plunkett took charge in 2012, as a successor to Brendan Fennelly.
The O’Moore’s suffered a 10-20 to 1-13 drubbing to Cork in the 2011 Championship, but have been on an upward curve since.
Laois lost to Offaly by four points in the league earlier this year at O’Moore Park, and were confident of facing the Faithful County in the Championship in two weeks, after drawing them as preliminary group winners.