Ronan McCarthy admitted that Cork still have a lot of ground to make up on the top teams after their Super 8s campaign ended with a third straight defeat at the hands of Roscommon.

Following a disastrous spring campaign which culminated in relegation to Division 3 of the Allianz League, the Rebels improved for the championship where they put it up to Kerry, Dublin and Tyrone. But yesterday's loss at home to the Connacht champions provided them with a timely reality check.

“You stand back from it and we played four championship games against top sides and haven’t come out on the right side in any of them. There’s a message in that. There’s a lot to do and we’ll certainly do it,” the Cork supremo told the Irish Examiner.

“We’ve shown in big games against really top teams that we have the quality to match them. From the point of view of our physical development, experience, and game-management, we have a bit to go.

“While our strength and conditioning has certainly stepped up massively this year, we’ve a bit to go there, as well. We’ll put in that work over the winter and make sure we bring guys to the next level in relation to next year.”

He added: “The disappointing thing is we’ve played patches of really good football against top teams, but not done it consistently enough throughout these games. That’s part of the process and the development."

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