Former Dublin star Ciaran Whelan says last Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC final defeat against Tyrone will be a difficult one for Mayo to recover from.

James Horan’s men went down in a 2-14 to 0-15 defeat to the Red Hands at Croke Park, marking their second consecutive loss on football’s biggest stage having lost out to Dublin in the Sam Maguire Cup decider last December.

Speaking on the RTÉ GAA Podcast, Whelan said that the Westerners “lacked any sort of direction up front” against Tyrone and that the defeat is one that is going to hurt badly.

"We spoke about this team coming in with no baggage. Well now they have baggage,” he said.

"People say there’s very little sympathy for them, but this is the time where they need sympathy because this is going to hurt badly. It’s that type of game where you can’t get out of bed for a few days and when you look back at the video it’d eat at you.

"Barring the Dublin match, they had been conceding an average of two goals per game and that’s been a big problem with this Mayo team. If you’re not getting them at the other end then you’re in trouble.

"It’s a real step-back moment for James Horan to say, 'Where do we go from here? Are we solid enough defensively, are we too attack-minded and do we leave ourselves exposed too often at the back?’

"Does he need to find a new forward plan? They lacked any sort of direction up front against Tyrone. Tactically they were a little naive. This one is going to hurt badly. It’s going to be a difficult one to recover from."

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