The Offaly players and backroom team were still licking their wounds yesterday after a deeply disappointing display against Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday. What made the experience much harder to accept was the fact that they played well below the standards which they had set for themselves and at no time managed to reproduce the excellent form they had displayed against Meath. "It wasn't being beaten that hurt us. It was simply the fact that we did not play. That makes it very hard to take," said team manager Tommy Lyons yesterday as he pondered his options before heading off for a holiday "as far away from football as I can get".

It was a chastened group of players and supporters who headed back to Offaly on Sunday night, their sombre mood matched by the drenching rain. Lyons was in some difficulty as he tried to explain what had happened. "I suppose it was a combination of a number of matters. Maybe some of the lads were overcome by the occasion and some others may have believed that their All-Ireland final had been played against Meath. As well as that, we needed a couple of early scores. We got the chances, but couldn't put them away. "We had peaked against Meath and we needed more time to get going again, but we only had two weeks. Mayo's last peak was in their early match last May (against Galway) and they were able to pace themselves before yesterday. All along we had to concentrate on the Meath match and their two draws with Kildare meant that we couldn't take our attention away from that tie until it was over. "By then, we hadn't even thought about Mayo, so we had to start from scratch as far as they were concerned and we really needed to know more about them before we could take them on at even terms. We are not complaining. That is the way things work out in this game, but we are very disappointed with ourselves and the fact that we didn't do ourselves justice on the day."

Lyons singled out a superb early save by the Mayo goalkeeper Peter Burke. "It was a superb save from Peter Brady. A goal then would have given us the kind of spark we needed. If that had gone in, I believe we would have settled down and put pressure on Mayo, but the longer the game went on the more frustrated we became. "Vinny Claffey also had a chance for a goal, but that went astray as well. It just wasn't our day. We didn't put enough pressure on their defence and we were never able to expose their full back line. Ken Mortimer had a phenomenal match. Not only did he do his own job well, but he covered back behind Pat Holmes and Dermot Flanagan. "Mayo are a very shrewd team and even though they were missing a lot of chances, they were getting a lot of possession and retaining it well and using it well. If they can get their shooting right they will take a lot of beating," Lyons said.

In regard to his future in the game, he admitted that he hadn't given it any thought just yet. "I'm taking my family away for a holiday and I'll do some thinking then. They have been very good to me down in Offaly and the players are a fine bunch of lads who worked very hard and deserved better.

"The thing is that you have to control your own life and if you are committed to something like a team you are not in control. My wife Noreen and two kids (seven and four) are entitled to have more of my attention. At Kilmacud (Crokes), I could take them down to training, but I couldn't do that down in Offaly, so I have a lot of thinking to do.

"We are proud of the way we played the game in this championship. We took a very positive view and tried to play football at all costs. Once again we got through a very tough match without having a player booked.

"Our match against Meath is being spoken about as the best game of football for years and we have every reason to take part of the credit for that.

"As far as the final is concerned I don't think there is a lot in it. I feel that if the day is dry I would fancy Kerry, but on a wet day Mayo have the kind of team which would cope better. Mayo have a huge incentive after their experience last year and I believe that they can improve, particularly if they get their shooting on target. It will certainly be close one way or another," he said.