Reasoning with defeat in an All-Ireland final is no easier in the cold light of day. Jack O'Connor had several hours to kill yesterday morning before his Kerry team made the return journey south, but it almost killed him to have to look back on Sunday's defeat to Tyrone - never mind looking ahead.

O'Connor is a devout realist, and knows this is part of the game. When he silently sat down for yet another inquisition he tried to conceal that astonished haze of a losing manager. But clearly this defeat was not resting easy. He answered every question with the same jovial respect that marked his victories, and yet he frequently shut his eyes as if that would make him invisible. This was not where the Kerry manager had planned to be.

"That was a bad one to lose." he started. "We gave it a good shot, but I feel the fact that we weren't really tested before Sunday, and hadn't played a game of that nature, told against us at times. That was my gut feeling after the game, and still is. So we just didn't get even close to the pace of the game.

"But then there wasn't an awful lot in it. I just feel we were short of the battle-hardness that Tyrone had. And I'd have given anything for the draw there, and then have another go at them in a couple of weeks. That game would have brought us on. But we'll never know that now."

It's still less than two years since O'Connor moved into the unenviable position of succeeding Páidí Ó Sé. In many ways it was a move into the unknown. Yet Sunday was his first championship defeat, following a National League, two Munster, and the All-Ireland title. In other words he's won four of the six competitions he's entered. Normally that's more than sufficient to guarantee talk of next year and trying for more, but O'Connor stops that conversation in its tracks.

"We wouldn't be making our mind up today anyway. It's like you put your life on hold, and give it everything for the two years. When you don't win at the end of it you feel the world has come to an end. So it's not a good time to be talking about that.

"I don't want to pre-empt what might happen, and you can't jump to conclusions right now. You have to let the dust settle.

"There are a lot of good players on that panel, and a few younger ones to come in yet. So I wouldn't be despondent at all about Kerry's future."

The question O'Connor is obviously asking himself is whether he thinks this team can come back and win the All-Ireland next year. If more extensive renovations are needed then it's more likely to take two years.

Although the feeling among the team is that he probably will stay on, he's not going to step out of character now and pretend he's got the answer up his sleeve.

"The one thing I definitely learnt on Sunday is that defeat is tough," he added. "But look, Tyrone are an exceptional team. They've very difficult to play against because of their mobility, and their interchangeability. They play to a system and play it very well.

"At times we were disappointed at the way we spilled ball, and didn't support each other coming out of the defence the way we had hoped we would. That's attributed to the pressure Tyrone put on us, but I would say we hadn't come up against such sustained tackling before. Not this year anyway."

When he's asked if teams like Kerry need to evolve even closer towards the so-called Ulster brand of football, O'Connor looked to be wondering out loud: "I think it all depends on what type of players you have. I mean we brought in Darren O'Sullivan there, and he's only 19. You have to play a different sort of game with him than you would the bigger men.

"Right now Tyrone have a lot of very fast and mobile players who are very comfortable on the ball. And can play a very free-flowing, slick-moving passing game. So you have to play the kind of game that suits the players you have, rather than imposing a style on players.

"I've been saying it for a while now that we are falling a bit behind the North when it comes to underage structures. I know that from the colleges' level, because they are very organised up there. They're putting in a lot of time and effort and money at the grassroots level, and maybe that's where the other counties have to concentrate."

Before departing he was hit with a couple of the more contentious talking points from Sunday's game - such as the apparent strike on Colm Cooper in the first half, the apparent punch on Tomás Ó Sé at the end, and the chaotic pitch invasion.

"Something happened with the Gooch (Cooper) alright, but the umpires didn't see it, so that's the end of it. I didn't hear about Tomás, but he's well able to look after himself.

"What can I say about the scenes at the end other than the fact that I nearly got knocked over by the avalanche.

"But sure there's a lot of hunger in Tyrone."

After Sunday, there'll be a lot of hunger again in Kerry, and probably O'Connor too.

And isn't that what ultimately wins All-Irelands?