Laois manager John Sugrue has been heavily critical of his side's performance in this afternoon's 1-13 to 0-13 defeat to Westmeath in the National Football League Division 3 final.
"It is bitterly disappointing the way we performed there," Sugrue stated in conversation with Off the Ball.
"Similar to the first day against Westmeath, our performance levels weren't where we need them to be at, so we're back to the drawing board."
Runners-up in Division 3 with five wins from seven NFL games, Laois are due to meet Westmeath once again in the quarter-final of this year's Leinster Senior Football Championship.
However, Sugrue admitted that he is concerned about the manner in which Laois will now have to address their deficiencies.
"No, I genuinely don't think so," responded Sugrue to the suggestion that his players may have had one eye on the upcoming Championship clash.
"I think Westmeath came into the game with a very positive approach, they played some solid football and they schooled us for periods of that game.
"We've come in with our approach and tried to put our stamp on the game and it's failed today, so it really will take quite an attempt to turn this around."
An opportunity to win some silverware for Laois, Sugrue was particularly disappointed with the manner in which his team performed with this expectation in mind.
"We all have to look at ourselves and what we're doing," Sugrue asserted.
"Are we going to commit to it 100% or are we going to commit 80%? If we do [the latter], we'll end up with results like this.
"This is senior football, this is Croke Park and this is a place where guys want to play football.
"If they want to play football, come to Croke Park to play it. Don't come to Croke Park to put up a performance like that."
Watch the full interview with John Sugrue below:
'This isn't U-12 or U-14, don't come to Croke Park to put up a performance like that...'@CLGLaois manager John Sugrue was bitterly disappointed with his side's defeat to @westmeath_gaa when speaking with @MaireTNC post-match... pic.twitter.com/ykcMcIEjE6
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) April 6, 2019
