Walsh won’t get his walking papers

UNDER-FIRE Galway football team manager Kevin Walsh will not be thrown under the bus by local GAA officials in the wake of the county’s championship exit to Mayo last Saturday evening.

Walsh has a year of his managerial contract still to run and if the Killannin clubman has the desire to stay in charge for a sixth season, Galway are unlikely to move against him.

There remains huge respect for Walsh in the corridors of power given his massive contribution to Galway football, especially as a towering midfielder during the county’s All-Ireland triumphs of 1998 and 2001.

In the aftermath of the loss to Mayo – Galway rallied bravely after a disastrous start – Walsh delivered a stinging rebuke to anonymous critics on social media.

He has invested a huge effort in trying to restore the county’s footballing reputation and though 2019 has not gone to plan, Walsh isn’t the type of individualto bail out if he believes the dressing room is still behind him.

A few weeks of contemplation about his future lies ahead as local GAA supporters try to come to terms with Galway’s flagship football and hurling teams suffering early championship departures.