Davy Fitzgerald was in no mood to make excuses for his underperforming Waterford side who were dealt a devastating defeat by Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
And the Déise manager admitted that he could tell early in the contest that his side were not up to the challenge posed by Pat Ryan's side on the banks of the River Lee.
It was a nine-point defeat in the end as Cork ran out 0-27 to 0-18 winners, leaving Waterford with no points from their opening two Munster championship games, following last week’s defeat to All-Ireland champions Limerick.
It was Cork’s first outing of the campaign, and while Fitzgerald acknowledged that the Rebels would have been fresher than his side, he was not using it as an excuse for the nature of the defeat.
"We were well beaten today," said Fitzgerald, speaking on The Sunday Game Live following the game.
"Cork had way more energy than we had and there was no doubt that they deserved to win by as much as they did.
"We just didn’t seem to have that energy today and we just weren’t the same as we were last week, so all we can do is apologise to our supporters.
"I know Cork were coming in fresh but there is no excuses, as Limerick and Clare had the same thing
"We didn’t have the intensity that energy, we didn’t attack the balls, and you could tell early on that that was the story."
Waterford were denied a potential goalscoring opportunity in the first half when Ciaran Joyce fouled Jack Prendergast, with the Cork defender going unpunished, when a black card could have reduced the home side to 14 men.
And while Fitzgerald felt that his side were denied a certain amount of the referee’s favour during the game, he admitted that it was not nearly enough to have influenced the result.
"I thought the ref was a small bit harsh on us but that wouldn’t even have come close to making a difference today," said Fitzgerald.
"We were beaten all over the field today and we know that performance is not acceptable.
"Maybe it’s down to me not getting them up enough during the week, I don’t know.
"They are good lads, and they are a lot better than they were out there."
Two defeats from two to start the Munster round robin process, Fitzgerald has not yet thrown in the towel on this championship campaign as he feels that Clare’s victory over Limerick has changed the overall picture of the format.
Clare sit bottom of the five-team table but still harbour hopes of finishing inside the top three, which would see them progress to the next phase of the All-Ireland championship.
"I think the Clare result last night makes things a lot different. We have two games to go, so let’s see how we can do in the two of them," said Fitzgerald.
"I’d just like to see us play with a bit more energy and a bit more freedom than we did today.
"It’s going to be a tough week. I’m sure we’ll get a bit of stick and I’m sure we deserve most of what we get.
"We have to dust ourselves down from this, it’s important. We totally accept the manner of the defeat and we know how we were."
