Antrim captain Peter Healy reckons boss Andy McEntee is the no nonsense 'authoritarian' figure their young group needed.
Healy stressed that former boss Enda McGinely was a terrific man-manager and coach.
But the experienced defender has been blown away by McEntee's passion and said the Meath man's pre-match speeches leave everyone 'raring to go'.
McEntee has guided Antrim to four wins in a row, the first time they've achieved that feat in over 70 years.
But the Nobber native's dubious reward for his success with the Saffrons is a Tailteann Cup semi-final clash with Meath - whom he managed for six years until last June.
Healy said: "All managers are different. Enda was probably that new generation of manager, a bit younger and he'd done it with Tyrone quite recently.
"He came in and his man-management was brilliant, his coaching was brilliant. Than on the other side of that, Andy has come in and he's been more authoritarian. I don't want to say a stronger character but more traditional I'd say, kind of more hands off than Enda was.
"He's some man to get the lads riled up before a game in the changing room. He'll go off on one and everyone is raring to go. It's brilliant to see and brilliant to be a part of.
"All managers have different styles and maybe that's what we needed with a young team and a young panel, with a lot of new lads coming in.
"We probably needed that kind of authoritarian figure to kind of get the best out of them. I think Andy is doing that."
Healy praised McEntee too for the team's all action style. They've fired a whopping 20 goals since the start of the league, 10 of those coming in the Championship.
Healy said: "When you have a big man like Ruairi McCann inside, he's the definition of a handful and we're just getting the ball into him and it's whether he smashes it in the net himself or lays it off to someone else.
"That direct football has allowed us to score those 10 goals and that's how we're kind of sticking in games, sticking in goals and then bang - the game changes. Something we're definitely trying to do is utilise him.
"When you have a big man inside, you've got to use him. Ruairi might only touch the ball eight, nine or 10 times in a game but he might score three goals. He's so dangerous that way.
"Credit to Andy, he sort of recognised that and that's what we're trying to do."
Meanwhile, Healy is hopeful that defender Dermot McAleese (eye) and midfielder Conor Stewart (knee) will be fit for the Meath game. Both went off with injuries in last Sunday's win over Carlow.
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