Sometimes you have no appetite for the routine of gathering them. In Croke Park yesterday there wasn't much that anybody could say. The game didn't hinge on any controversy. In fact, the game just didn't hinge.

Eddie Brennan was polite, talking up the contest a little, but his heart wasn't in it.

"Twas heavy going out there lads, I know the scoreline doesn't reflect that, but the heat was draining. I just suppose there's still a lot of work to do. Look at the few matches there, with Limerick and Tipp and Cork and Waterford, they are a pace above that there today. That's where the bar is at the moment."

So nothing from Kilkenny training from now on save the sound of a whip cracking over stripy backs?

"There's always room for improvement. I know we had a comfortable winning score, but that performance won't do against some of the stronger Munster teams. I don't think that reflects on Wexford. Teams can hit an off day. I think they hit an off day. I was surprised. We were expecting a bigger battle."

Brian Cody emerged. The year's most downbeat provincial title winner. As ever in no mood for propaganda.

"I suppose it wasn't as competitive as we expected. We were expecting a massively competitive game. You couldn't say it was massively competitive. I'd be telling lies if I did.

"I suppose again, as it turned out, we got an earlier goal similar to the league semi-final, it shoved us on a bit. I'm happy enough with it."

We wandered wearily down to the Wexford dressingroom, not really expecting that they would send an emissary. From inside issued the sound of John Meyler's passionate voice. We listened in guiltily, thinking that there are days when it is better to be a humble quote-harvester than to be an intercounty player. Than John emerged, his voice still amplified with passion.

"We have a long way to go. I'll call it as it is lads. We probably have five years' work to do to get up to that. Their (Kilkenny's) pace is superb, they are fantastic hurlers. We are not at the speed. That's what today found out. We have three weeks to get it right for the qualifiers. If we don't get it right we're in a sorry situation."

His animation was so striking and articulate that you wondered why it didn't seem to be contagious. None of it came out in Wexford's featureless showing.

"It was a flat performance. We spoke about that for ages. We spoke about how when you cross the white line you have to perform. And we didn't perform. There is no point saying anything else. We just didn't perform. We need to do that, we have three weeks to get it right."

There was almost nothing left to ask. We are so used to managers beating around the bush and us chasing them that it was odd and refreshing to meet such frankness.

"There's a mental thing. A mental thing which Kilkenny have. A hurling thing. Cork and Kilkenny. Their speed, their touch on the ball is superb. You take the two O'Connors, you take Curran! Their speed, their touch, Brennan, Shefflin, Comerford. Fennelly came in today, in beside Cha. Perfect. The backroom players just slot into the team and know what they are doing.

"Maybe it's my management. Maybe I'm not up to it. Something, I don't know. When you play a game like that you look at yourself and look inside yourself and say, 'Is it me? Is it me?' "

We were so bowled over by this candour that we felt the urge to shout "No John. No John, not you. Never". But Meyler wasn't in the mood for flannelling.

We asked a losing manager what he thought of the fact half the crowd left at half-time. Seems a harsh one in retrospect. John Meyler took it on the chin.

"The game was over at half-time. They were 11 points up at half-time. They weren't happy and I apologise to them. They vote with their feet. They weren't happy and we apologise. It wasn't good enough. We have said we won't accept it.

"We'll go and meet on Tuesday night. Sit down and sort it out and do some surgery to get this right. If we don't, where are we going to go? We have to address it. We need to come back. We need to resurrect it."

And he was gone again. That was so like Pillar Caffrey, said somebody.

We all grinned guiltily again.