Interim Offaly manager Joachim Kelly has launched a defense of his players following their relegation to the Christy Ring Cup on Saturday.
The 1998 All-Ireland champions slumped to a 1-18 to 1-16 defeat at the hands of Kerry in their final Joe McDonagh Cup game, which means they will play in the third tier of the Championship next season.
The Faithful county ran out to a 0-4 to 0-0 lead early on but things went off the rails once Peter Geraghty was dismissed in the opening minutes of the game.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio after the game, Kelly - who replaced the sacked Kevin Martin ahead of the defeat to Antrim - was staunch in his
"There are arseholes on social media criticising us," he said, as reported by the Offaly Express.
"They are gobshites who know nothing about hurling... Everybody gets it; the management, the county board, the players.
"But if they only knew the work these lads have put in over the last couple of years, they wouldn't be so quick to criticise."
The result leaves Offaly playing in the third tier of the All-Ireland Championship for the first time but Kelly looked to keep things in perspective, saying: "No one died, the sun will rise again in the morning, and please God, Offaly will rise again sometime soon."
While he refused to confirm whether or not he would stay on as Offaly manager for next season, Kelly said he believes there is a problem for hurling in the Faithful county due to the over-reliance on certain areas to provide the bulk of the team.
"Offaly is a split county between hurling and football, I don't care what anyone says," he continued.
"There's no hurling in Edenderry, very little in Clara and Tullamore is a Senior B team."
