It took a while but a little bit of defiance eventually shone through during Mickey Harte's post All-Ireland final interview with Sky Sports.
"We're obviously very disappointed but I have to say I'm very proud of the players," Harte told Damian Lawlor after his side suffered a six-point defeat to Dublin.
Initially, there was a resigned tone to Harte's words as he talked about his side's effort against the four-in-a-row champions.
"It looked like we were going to get a bit of a hammering again but the boys really gave it their all.
"I'm so disappointed for them because they put a huge, huge effort into it but we're up against a very good team and they have a lot of artillery.
"You know, it's the best we can do at the moment. Hopefully we can do better again."
Then came the little bit of defiance from the three-time All-Ireland winning manager.
You never give up on anything; there's no such thing as a lost cause. If they could score 2-6 in a half, why couldn't we do the same?
We had to just roll up our sleeves and do the best that we could.
Harte regretted his side's missed chances towards the end of the game. "It could have been a much closer game if we'd taken those scores," he said.
Mickey Harte reacts to his side's defeat: pic.twitter.com/BWlWHMaCBr
— Sky Sports GAA (@SkySportsGAA) September 2, 2018
