Speculation was mounting yesterday surrounding Galway Senior Hurling Manager Ger Loughnane's future with the county after Galway's defeat in Thurles on Saturday.

A scheduled meeting of the County Board met yesterday evening but at time of going to print the outcome of the meeting was unknown.

Although the discussion of the senior team management was not on the Official agenda, it was "most likely to be discussed", according to one county board delegate.

"There are many questions to be asked and answered in the coming months surrounding team management and indeed Galway's role in the All-Ireland series. There is the question of the failure of Loughnane to get the best out of the players in the last two years. There is the fact that in spite of the panel's efforts in training and preparation that they simply didn't perform on the big day and then there is the question of Galway's positioning in the All-Ireland series.

"Many have written about the fact that Galway could only afford to lose one match and their All-Ireland dream had ended whereas the likes of Clare and Cork could lose and are now still in the running for that elusive All-Ireland medal," said a county board delegate.

Speaking after the All-Ireland qualifier on Saturday, Loughnane said, "it was a failure, there is no other way of saying it. I went up to Galway for two years. I said I'd give it two years to win an All-Ireland and we didn't even win a quarter-final, we didn't even get to a semi-final, we got nowhere in two years."

Loughnane declared after his appointment in 2006 that he would view his tenure as a failure if he didn't deliver the Liam McCarthy Cup within two years. However, the team has come nowhere close to achieving that goal, with only four championship wins against Antrim and Laois in the last two years.

Prior to the meeting yesterday evening some county board delegates were no wiser to what the outcome would be.

"He has made statements that he will go, but with the door being left open for him to stay on for another year, who knows? It is really too early to make decision like this only a couple of days after the defeat. This matter needs to be thought about and what is going to be right for the players and the county is the most important thing," a delegate said.

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