Brian Cody provided no excuses for Kilkenny's failure to beat Tipperary in Sunday's All-Ireland SHC Final by insisting that the best team won.
Kilkenny were bidding to claim their fifth All-Ireland title in a row but instead they had to cope with their first championship loss since their 2005 All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Galway having been defeated 4-17 to 1-18 by a fired-up Tipperary.
Facing the media at Croke Park Cody spoke of his pride in his squad's performance while offering his congratulations to Liam Sheedy's side.
"We have no, absolutely no ifs, buts or maybes. To me the best team always wins the All-Ireland final and that’s the way it worked today," Cody said.
"Tipp were excellent from start to finish. It was comprehensive. They got a good lead and we kept pegging it back. They went ahead again in the second half but we kept going at it.
"I’m as proud of the team today as I was this day last year.
"To me it’s about spirit and keeping going. They weren’t good enough but they kept it going. Up until a couple of minutes to go we were there, we were hunting and we were chasing.
"They were seven, maybe eight points up, and we got it back to three again. Our backs were driving and we kept going, so literally up to when it became impossible to do it, I was still saying ‘we can get a goal’. But they beat us. That was it.
"Tipp are an excellent team, I said it all along. We’re capable of beating Tipp some days and they’re capable of beating us some days. Today they beat us. They were excellent last year as well, they have excellent hurlers and they have excellent young hurlers coming through."
The big question before Sunday's final was whether or not Henry Shefflin was fit to take his chance and that question was answered as the Cats talisman made his way onto the pitch.
He warmed up without any problems and looked sharp during the opening ten minutes but his contribution came to an end after just 13 minutes.
"We lost Henry the last day and somebody steps in and takes his place," Cody explained. "If someone gets an injury he goes off and somebody else comes in.
"That's the way it works. Losing Henry the last day didn't disrupt the team. Michael Rice came on, Michael Rice was very good when he came on, so it's not even remotely an excuse or a reason for anything. Again very, very unfortunate on Henry.
"He came in with a serious injury, but John Tennyson had the same injury and they both had the same treatment and John Tennsyon lasted the pace no problem whatsoever. It's just one of those things."