"It chews away at me, yes, I am gutted. Forty-six years and we still haven't done it," said Mayo manager John Maughan. The press were allowed access to the losers' dressing-room only when the players were on their way out and Maughan had already repaired to the VIP lounge, a no-go area for the hacks, upstairs in the new stand. Maughan eventually broke away from company to talk to us in the corridor. "Before you set off to criticise my players, remember they are amateur sportsmen not getting a grand a week, doing their best," he said.

"I didn't sign a contract either," he joked. "Yes, I have one year left of my tenure as manager and it would be wrong of me not to fulfil that, but it's not getting any easier. "The chances were there for us to get winning scores in the last five minutes, but had we got them they would have been robbing scores. Kerry deserved their win. We were beaten by a better side. There is no doubt about it and only for the performance of Peter Burke in goal we would have been beaten by more," said Maughan.

On the loss of free-taker Maurice Sheridan, who had to retire injured at half-time, Maughan said: `'Normally we would be very close to opposition the way he has performed in the past but that was not happening and obviously he was a huge loss to us."

Referring to Dermot Flanagan's departure because of a hamstring injury, which caused a major reshuffle, Maughan said: "He would not have been playing if we did not think he would last the hour. He trained on Wednesday and Friday and was 100 per cent."

Mayo selector Peter Forde confirmed that Flanagan trained all last week although he had got a twinge the previous week.

"We didn't perform in many positions," said Maughan. "They were fresher and stronger in key departments.

"After we got the goal we were quite dominant for a period but we didn't get the scores. We didn't win the breaking ball as we normally do, but again I suppose that's a reflection on the opposition."

Midfield was another problem area. "Normally we would be winning 65 per cent of midfield possession but it didn't happen for us today."

Where do Mayo go from here? "Home and get a bit of a breather," he replied.

Can Mayo regroup? "I dunno, time will tell.

"It's been a long two years. The bite was there in the Offaly game. Obviously we had quite a bit in reserve for today. Kerry were stronger in certain positions where Mayo would have been dominant in the past," he said. "When the teams are walking around in the parade you try to ascertain who are the stronger. We looked bigger than them. "We did register some big scores early on in the championship but you need to put the ball over the bar on the day. We didn't do that. It was as simple as that," he added.

James Nallen and James Horan believe Mayo can come back and win an All-Ireland. They both cited Cork's success after they had lost back to back All-Irelands in the late 1980s.

But Maughan did not necessarily go along with the Cork example. "It's different now, teams are better prepared. It's getting more and more difficult."

Nallen said it would take three or four months for players to decide where they go from here. "Mayo people thought that this was going to be the year. It's hard for everyone to take. Maybe by Christmas fellas will feel like giving it another go, it's hard to know.

"We had some simple wides but having said that we wouldn't have deserved to win. Kerry were far superior on the day.

"We felt we could win it, a point down with 10 minutes remaining. At that stage we were dominant but we did not get the scores we required. Kerry were that bit faster, that bit slicker, they took their chances.

"We had two or three wides before we got a score, You can't do that against good opposition. We got away with it against Offaly," said Nallen.

Maurice Sheridan, who did not appear for the second half, said he watched it in pain, mentally as well as physically. "We lost two players in the first half with injury and if that happens any team the whole thing can fall apart."

He said that the average age of the team was 26-27 and that they had a future. "We didn't play at all in the first half with the possible exception of Peter Burke in goal and Ken Mortimer at right back." When asked what did the selectors say to them, Sheridan said: "You could write the script yourself, just heads up and get on with it."

Concerning the injury that ruined his chances of staying in the match, Sheridan said: "About halfway through the first half I tore it (hamstring) again, so I knew my All-Ireland was over. I tried to play on a bit but it was no good - it was torn.

"How do you pick up the pieces and go on, we will just have to try and find some comfort. We have got a good bunch here, so hopefully we will be able to pick up those pieces that are all over the floor at the moment. We'll do our best."

James Horan said: "You've got to take your chances to win a match and we didn't. We were in the driving seat after we got the penalty and a couple of more points but Kerry to their credit came back."

Meanwhile, The GOAL charity match between Kerry and Mayo fixed for next Saturday could be in doubt with most of the Mayo team booked to attend Pat Fallon's wedding on that day.