GAA: Seán Moran talks to manager Cyril Lyons about the lessons his squad can take from the summer.

There was a subdued mood as Clare prepared to depart the Alexander Hotel in Dublin yesterday. Having lost comprehensively to Kilkenny in the previous day's All-Ireland final, there was little inclination to dwell on the positive aspects of the season.

But for manager Cyril Lyons and his selectors, the championship represented a great step forward after two difficult years for the county, getting knocked out of the Munster championship at the first hurdle. It was unfortunate that they ran into an exceptional Kilkenny performance, and there was an acknowledgement that no team would have lived with the Leinster champions last weekend.

"It's hard to look at the whole thing in its entirety today," said Lyons. "We played six championship matches and were in the final game of the year. We got a year's hurling done with a whole new group of players. In time we'll look upon those as the good things, but today we're still getting over the disappointment of being beaten.

"The one thing that cushions it I suppose is how good Kilkenny were on the day. If we'd been beaten by a point and missed chances to win the game we'd have been even more disappointed. But the fact that they upped their game even on the semi-final performance meant that they were absolutely magnificent."

Although the dramatic tension drained from the match quite early, it was possible to admire the sheer marksmanship of Kilkenny, who shot only three wides.

For the past two years Clare had exited the championship in May and June, so the county was the most conspicuous beneficiary of the new qualifier system. The prolonged campaign should, Lyons hopes, benefit the players in the long run.

"We've had two long summers without hurling. This year we played six matches and three of them in Croke Park - a great experience for all players. Some of the older players were wondering when they'd get back to Croke Park. For the younger players, it's a huge experience and hopefully the benefits of that will be seen in the future.

"You can train all you like but it's only playing matches that you learn. That was one of the drawbacks of the previous system. You had all the training done and then just one match to pack it all in. This year we were winning matches, making mistakes, switching players. We got to know the players well and got great use out of playing them in different places and getting to know what would work."

The manager also disclosed that his decision to field Gerry Quinn had been taken two days before the match. Quinn's hand had been broken in a controversial incident at the end of the semi-final win over Waterford.

"Friday. The media might think we were doing a runner on that, but on the press night Gerry still had four pins in his hand. He had two out on the Friday, two out last Tuesday and it was only Thursday he was able to hold the hurley. But he had the courage to play."

Inevitably the question of players continuing or retiring crops up after All-Ireland finals. Five of Clare's team on Sunday started the 1995 final and, although not old, have a lot of hurling done over the past 10 years. Not surprisingly, Lyons didn't wish to be drawn.

"Hard to say the day after an All-Ireland, particularly if you lose. It's up to everybody now who wants to play and there's no use being involved if you don't want to play. And it's up to younger players to step up to the standard required."