THE pain will take some time to ease, but coach Joe McMahon has no concerns over the strength of character of the Tyrone players and their loyalty to each other.
He’s convinced the Red Hands will benefit from lessons learned in a heavy defeat to Kerry and come back stronger in 2024. As the Sam Maguire Cup holders move on to a semi-final clash with Derry, the 2021 champions can only observe from a distance with bitter regrets.
“Certainly from my own point of view, I have been there in the past and it’s not a good place to be, but the important thing is that the lads stick together like we do in Tyrone. We will look back at it and work at it and see what the future holds,” said McMahon.
He accepts that the entire group must engage in deep and honest reflection following the events that unfolded at Croke Park last Saturday, when the Kingdom seized control in the second half and romped to a 2-18 to 0-12 quarter-final victory.
“That is always going to be the case after a defeat and we will have plenty of time now to do it,” he said.
Some time in the coming weeks, the management and players will come together to review the entire season and search for answers to the burning questions over Tyrone’s failure to fulfil their immense potential.
“We will be heading straight back to club football now and I’m sure that there will be no stone left unturned with the group as a whole to figure out what we could have done better,” he said.
One factor which may have had a bearing on Tyrone’s failure to live with a rampant Kerry side in the second period was the seven-day turnaround, compared to the two-week run-in afforded to the Munster men.
“You are always looking for reasons for a defeat and you could say the turnaround was one of those, but looking at it from an early reflection we were very flat early on,” he said.
“Despite that in the first half we matched them and it was level with five minutes to go to the break but they had a very good start to the second half.
“They found a lot of spaces in behind us and they kept chipping away at the scoreboard and the quality that they have just showed.
“To be honest they had more opportunities to get goals and came away without them.
“It is disappointing to produce a performance like that but no doubt there will be a bit of time taken now to reflect on it all,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is that it isn’t good enough if you are expecting to compete at this level.
“We thought that we could have got a bit of a bounce off the Donegal game and it felt like that in the build-up but it just wasn’t to be.
“The effort was there from the lads and you can never fault that. We have been through a lot this year with ups and down but the great lads that they are they know that and will feel that,” he added.
Uncertainty hangs over the future of managers Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher, who have completed their three-year term, while there’s also speculation that some of the squad’s more senior members will call an end to their inter-county careers.
“I’m not sure what the future holds for everyone as a whole, but whatever it might be, Tyrone football will always be looking to come back and compete again,” said McMahon.
