Offaly boss Michael Fennelly does not believe his squad will have their morale drained by losing heavily in the tougher Division 1A ahead of the summer fixtures.
The Faithful County fell to 19-point defeat yesterday to Cork on the back of a 15-point setback against Galway on the opening round.
Fennelly has overseen Offaly progress back from a low point and the manner of the losses is undoubtedly concerning.
However, he is more perturbed by how the intensity of the games is impacting his players.
"I'm not concerned about the confidence, more concerned about the bodies.," he told RTÉ Sport.
"We picked up one or two more injuries today and one from Galway. It's tough facing a very formidable Cork team; the team they put out was very strong. I know there is a gulf there but that's the position we're in and we can't do anything about that.
"We're delighted to be playing the likes of Cork and learning from the speed of their play. If we're an inch off we'll pay for it. I think the lads will bring that to the training sessions and bring that on for the coming weeks.
"We're in a very, very tough group. There's a trend there with teams coming up from 2A. Cork got three goals early on but the boys got back into it; they could easily have dropped their heads. They should a good bit of character, got 1-15 against Cork, but 4-25 was a good scoreline.
"We were playing a team that is looking to win an All-Ireland. We know where we're at and we know where we need to improve on."
One positive for Offaly yesterday was a large attendance in Birr as their supporters came out to recognise their team being back at the top table of the league.
Fennelly added: "It was super to have a big crowd here. It's a pity the three goals went in early. It would have been great to stay with Cork for longer and to have the crowd behind us. Thry kept cheering the boys on which was great and that was massively appreciated.
"Offaly is in a better place and we're looking to climb the ladder a bit further. We'll gear ourselves towards the Joe McDonagh, which will be very, very competitive."
Cork boss Kieran Kingston was pleased with his side's showing
"Any time you start of the league with two wins you are satisfied. It was about putting in a performance and getting a result and I thought we did that. We set a good platform on got a couple of quick goals. It’s the tirst time Cork had played here in ten or 11 years.
"It was good in the first 15 or 20 minutes and we pressed well up front. We got a lot of turnovers and that worked well for us. We took the foot off the pedal heading into half-time and we addressed that.
"We're taking it from game to game. In the last number of weeks it has been a balancing act with the number of college students we have. We are trying to build a competitive panel and have real competition for places. I think we're achieving that."
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast at Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
