Eoin Cadogan: Cork capable of closing gap on football's top tier

The Cork footballers' season came to a disappointing conclusion at Croke Park last Saturday but Eoin Cadogan says there are plenty of positives they can take into next year.

The Rebels hung onto Dublin's coattails during the first half of their All-Ireland quarter-final but were outscored by 0-11 to 0-03 in the second period as Dessie Farrell’s side shifted up a gear.

Cork interim manager John Cleary admitted there was a large gulf between the teams when it came to fitness levels.

Cadogan, however, says the positives far outweigh the negatives and believes the experience of playing against Dublin at Croke Park, coupled with the return of key players from injury, can help them close the gap to the leading teams.

"For the group themselves, they’ve made progress this year, absolutely," Cadogan told RTÉ Sport.

"Taking into account the amount of injuries Cork have had, the young talent that is there but couldn’t be a part of it due to injury. Once they get all those guys back...

"Fitness is another easy one to throw out there but it takes time to build that tank of fitness that gets you through those games.

"What Dublin had for years was the ability to break you from 50 to 70 minutes because they had it in the tank. They broke your minds through hard running, forcing you to make decisions, and then a massive, manic work ethic from their forwards back.

"It’s the same with Limerick’s hurlers, you can see their conditioning capability was very evident in the Munster final. You’ll see again with Clare and Cork next year, they’ll build on that fitness. It’s about getting up to the pitch of the game.

"Hugely disappointing but a lot more positives compared to the last few years."

Colm Cooper, with whom Cadogan enjoyed some great tussles