Diarmuid O'Sullivan has urged the Cork football management to overhaul the squad next year.

The former dual star was part of the Cork hurling management which decided to give youth its fling a couple of years ago and he believes football manager Ronan McCarthy and his selectors should take a similar approach in the wake of humiliating championship defeats to Kerry and Tyrone in recent weeks.

"As a Cork man and a supporter of Cork, it's hurtful. Some of it is warranted, some not," 'The Rock' told Paddy Power News of the recent criticism directed at the footballers. 

"You have to suck it up. It's disappointing to see Cork football deteriorating in a manner. I have some good friends inside the squad there who are understandably very, very hurt. Both senior county teams are treated the exact same way, financially and across all other forms of support. 

"Probably Cork might have fears, that they didn't want to break the football up into the two-tier structure. As a fella said to me during the week, 'There's the super eights and the after eights'. 

"There's no harm in losing if you lose in the right manner. But, the biggest criticism levelled at Cork is they're going out with a whimper. At least you go out and you give the best version of yourself.

"Is it now a case of - like we did with the hurlers couple of years ago - that it's time for the Cork football management make a fresh start? Where we weeded out four or five one year, get rid of five or six the next year and integrated younger lads. 

"You're in Division Two of National Football League. If it means blooding 10 or 15 youngsters in Division Two next year and we get relegated to Division Three, so be it. 

"Once Cork are seen to be trying to do the right thing."

You can follow all of this weekend's action from the All-Ireland SFC Super 8s and All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals on the hoganstand.com live match tracker.

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