John Hayes says Cork have "circled the wagons" since their Munster SFC final meltdown against Kerry.

A bad day in Pairc Ui Chaoimh was compounded for the experienced Carbery Rangers forward by a red card in the closing stages after he caught Declan O'Sullivan with a high elbow. He was suspended for last Saturday's qualifier win over Sligo, but is back in contention for this weekend's All-Ireland quarter-final against Mayo.

"I was a little disappointed not to start (against Kerry), then watching the game unfold - though I thought we were coming into it after half-time, we got a few scores but they killed it off, and no better team to do that," Hayes tells the Irish Examiner.

"When I came in it was a bit of a lost cause, nine or 10 points down, but you still want to do something positive.

"Kerry were playing a lot of keep-ball, I tried to catch a guy with a shoulder but he side-stepped me, I stuck out an arm and that was it."

Hayes wasn't surprised by the reaction to Cork's heavy defeat.

"I wasn't too surprised - I've been around a while and when you have bad performances like that you expect a reaction," he continues.

"I'm lucky I'm not on social media so I probably avoided the worst of it, but you hear people talking . . .

"You have to expect that after a twelve-point defeat to Kerry in a Munster final, you have to expect a reaction. It might be harder for some of the younger fellas but you need a thick skin at this level, you have to react in the right way. We circled the wagons, looked forward, and tried to learn lessons from the game. You don't become a bad team overnight." Tweet

Most Read Stories