The refreshingly blunt and honest assessment delivered by Rhian Wilkinson in the aftermath of Wales' Euro 2025 exit spoke volumes.
"Big congratulations to England, I thought we were thoroughly outplayed, I was also out-coached," she said.
Having already suffered heavy defeats against the Netherlands and France, Wales looked every bit a side that were not used to the exhausting demands of playing such high intensity matches in quick succession by the time the third and final Group D fixture with neighbours England came around.
The Lionesses crucified Wales, terrorising them from wide positions, finding alarming amounts of space in the box at times, and all while looking like they had barely shifted out of first gear.
Chief tormentor Lauren James oozed class throughout, pulling those in red apart at will, with ITV pundit Karen Carney summing up Wales' woes with a stern half-time assessment.
"From a Welsh perspective, it's so passive," said the 144-cap former Lioness.
"I feel like Lauren James is just toying with people. It feels like they're (England) walking and taking the mick out of the Welsh players if I'm brutally honest."
Ouch!
Former Wales player and manager Jayne Ludlow also expressed her disappointment at her side's defensive shoddiness.
The emphatic 6-1 defeat ensured time was called on Wales' summer in Switzerland, with Wilkinson accepting Sarina Wiegman's side were worthy winners in St Gallen while citing some lessons for both herself and her squad to learn.
"It was one of those games that you know you'll look on as a huge moment to push you on to new levels," said the 43-year-old.
"I feel sorry that I wasn't able to give the players what they needed in that third game, but equally, I know it highlights we've dipped our toe into something here and we're excited about it, but we've got a long way to go.
"There's a real fitness gap for this team. When you think of tournament play, you talk about three, four, five or six games. This team has never played through a summer before and it's a gap that we've got to go towards."
There were, of course, mitigating factors behind Wales' desperate struggles among the European elite.
They went into the tournament as the lowest ranked side while UEFA could hardly have cherry-picked a more daunting trio of opponents.
It's also worth noting that only four women's nations in UEFA boast a fully professional domestic league.
Germany are one. The other three? Netherlands, France and England.
As for personnel, the impact of Hayley Ladd was limited after her struggles with illness, and she left a significant void given her immense defensive capabilities in addition to her sheer quality on the ball.
There was also the goalkeeper situation, with Safia Middleton-Patel - despite her howler gifting France a third goal in a 4-1 defeat - looking every bit a player who is ready to take the number one jersey from Olivia Clark.
Rival Clark was the recipient of some criticism from pundit and former Wales international Nia Jones and it will be a duel that promises much for the future.
READ MORE: Rhian Wilkinson And Wales Leave Euro 2025 Proud But Realistic After England Show Gulf In Class
And then there was the gut-wrenching absence of Sophie Ingle, whose sole involvement was as a last-gasp substitute in the loss to the French following her lengthy spell on the sidelines with an ACL injury.
Tactitally, questions can be asked of the coaches, too.
Jess Fishlock operated in a forward role in the opener against the Dutch - where Wales failed to register a single shot on target and mustered an xG total of just 0.17.
She was far more effective from a deeper role, as evidenced by her two goal involvements in the second and third games at the tournament.
As for their tournament climax, former Chelsea manager and current USA boss Emma Hayes highlighted the mess of the Welsh backline during their humbling hammering by the reigning Euro champions.
Thankfully, Wilkinson recognises and acknowledges the shortcomings and knows only too well that having weaknesses fully exposed on the grandest stage can, potentially in time, prove a blessing in disguise.
It ensured that, all in all, the Euros proved to be a chastening experience for Wales, and that in itself may be the perfect tonic for future improvement.
Given the chasm between Wales and those they came up against in the Swiss sunshine, the Red Wall could be forgiven for being determined to fully enjoy their time in the limelight.
But it's the pure and genuine honesty from Wilkinson that will give Wales the best possible chance of closing the gap.
It’s a big gap, too, to those who have just taught them what it really takes to make it in the big time.
