"In my heart, I'd say yes but in my head, I'd say no."

Tipperary manager Liam Kearns doesn't fancy his native county's chances of lifting the Sam Maguire later in the year.

"Obviously conceding two goals wasn't great. There was parts of our performance that were very good, there was parts of the game that we went a bit flat and made mistakes."

Kerry will have to tighten up at the back, according to Eamonn Fitzmaurice, as they switch their focus to the All-Ireland series.

"We didn't expect to run out with as much to spare but we did believe we could play much better than the first day."

Mickey Harte and Tyrone issued a statement of intent in Clones yesterday.

"When they're good they're very good."

Harte's Breffni County counterpart Terry Hyland took his hat off to the Red Hands.

"Quite honestly, we have been written off since we started. People can snigger and laugh all they want, but they have been doing it on a weekly basis. It hasn't really taken a bit out of the team - nor will it. We'll just try do our county proud."

Donegal captain Michael Murphy will continue to ignore his side's critics as they prepare for an Ulster SFC final showdown with Tyrone.

"In the second half we were a lot better, but Donegal always had that bit of a lead and we weren't able to close that gap."

Malachy O'Rourke and Monaghan surrendered their Ulster SFC crown in Kingspan Breffni Park.

"The bottom line is, from a hierarchical point of view, the likes of Laois don't matter. It wouldn't be done to Dublin, it wouldn't be done to Kerry, it wouldn't be done to Donegal but it will be done to the likes of Laois and Carlow - the people who are at where we're at in the game. I think the authorities need to have a look at the fairness of the whole system."

Strong words from Laois boss Mick Lillis following their minimum margin qualifier win over Armagh.

"I would hate to see anybody lose a game that they have won on the pitch. That would be my feeling. We fulfilled the fixture. If you had won, you'd have taken it with both hands. Twice it was taken off me as a player (in similar circumstances) but look, it probably papered over a lot of cracks."

Orchard County boss Kieran McGeeney had sympathy for the O'Moore County's plight.

"We worked very hard on that over the last few weeks, and it paid dividend today. I'm very pleased, and a scoreline of 2-15 is always good."

Niall Carew and Sligo safely negotiated the challenge of Leitrim.

"I'm very committed to Leitrim GAA in general. I've done a lot of coaching with them and I hope to do the same in the future. It's been a progressive campaign. We won a qualifier game. Little steps of progress are major steps for us and we're very much focused on that."

Shane Ward hopes to stay on with Leitrim.

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