Martin O’Neill watched Ireland crash out of Euro 2016 and was left wondering about the hosts three day advantage preparing for the match.
Ireland had to wait until late on Wednesday night to book their place in the last 16 of the competition with Didier Deschamps side already well underway with their preparation by that stage.
Robbie Brady put Ireland in front with a second minute penalty but early in the second half a double from Antoine Griezmann killed off hopes of an upset.
“A three-day differential is genuinely too much and it took its toll on us in the second half,” the former Celtic boss said.
“It will sound like an excuse and it’s not meant to be. But it is incredible. It really is incredible.
“We knew at the start of the tournament when we were looking at it that after a really tough group, if we took our place in the last 16, the chances were there was going to be a big differential between us and some of the sides that we might play in the competition.
“France, it looked as if it was geared from them to win their group, which they did. Well done to them but three days is far too much. “
O’Neill added: “We put them under pressure. We rattled them. We got the goal and it actually settled us down. I thought that we were continuing to do very well in the game.
“It’s all ifs, buts and maybes, but if we had gone another six, seven, eight minutes without conceding, there would have been a lot of pressure on France and I think we could have used that to our advantage.
“The two goals that they scored came within two or three minutes of each other. If I look back, I think the goals we have conceded have been quite poor. That’s my only annoyance.”