DOWN TO BUSINESS

Mayo the biggest losers as 12 teams stay in Sam hunt

- PAT NOLAN

FINALLY, after four provincial Championships and 24 group games, four teams were eliminated from the All-Ireland SFC at the weekend, leaving 12 still in the hunt for Sam Maguire.

Of those that exited, some were big hitters, others not so much.

Clare, the lowest ranked team in the upper tier who qualified thanks to a generous provincial draw for the third year running despite being in Division Three, had a reasonable chance of progressing from one of the weaker groups, but ultimately couldn't take their chance against Louth.

Roscommon finishing bottom of Group 2 having also been well beaten by Galway in Connacht represents an underwhelming campaign for a county that will return to Division One next year.

The mood music around Davy Burke suggests that he may not be back in 2026. If that's how it transpires, he would be the fourth Roscommon manager in the past decade to depart on the back of leading the team to Division One after John Evans (2015), Kevin McStay (2018) and Anthony Cunningham (2022).