Henry Shefflin has been dealt his greatest setback in management after Galway were knocked out of All-Ireland contention after a shock defeat to Dublin.
The Tribesmen were beaten by The Dubs - who are managed by former boss Micheal Donoghue - 2-27 to 1-24 in the semi-finals of the Leinster SHC to end another underwhelming season sunder Shefflin's stewardship.
Both sides entered the game knowing that defeat could prove fatal and so it proved for Galway, although a contentious red card decision did not help their efforts.
Galway started the better of the two teams, racking up nine points inside the first 15 minutes before they were reduced to 14 men when David Burke was given his marching orders.
Referee Colm Lyons judged that Burke's shoulder hit on Fergal Whitely was worthy of a straight red card - with Shefflin as well as RTE pundit Jackie Tyrrell stating it should not have been a red.
Regardless, the result has piled the presure on Shefflin at Galway, who are without an All-Ireland title win since Donoghue guided them to the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2017.
Henry Shefflin addresses his Galway future
Shefflin cut a forlorn figure in his media duties after the defeat, citing his disagreement with Burke's dismissal but he was also pragmatic when addressing his future.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Shefflin admitted it could be the beginning of the end for him and some of his personnel.
I don’t know, it could be the end of the road for a few of us," he said.
"But what we said in the dressing room was that we’d take a few days and don’t make a rash decision, and that’s the only logical thing."
"I’m going to be very low obviously, because you put a lot into this and you just weigh up your family and everything like that that goes into it," he continued.
"For us, though, that’s why we do sport.
"It’s easy to sit at home and watch the TV and do these things, but you have to front up and go out there and that’s what I decided to do. But your family put a lot into it and there’s a lot of things kind of go around.
"But for me, it will be hurt for a few days and just kind of take a break and just try and get back to normal after a few days and see how things lie at that stage."
Shefflin is provisionally due to continue on until 2026 having taken the job from the beginning of the 2022 season.
He guided Ballyhale Shamrocks to multiple All-Ireland Senior Club Championship titles before taking his first inter-county management job with Galway.
However, it looks uncertain as to whether he will be on the sidelines when Galway reconvene for the Allianz League next season.
