Ryan not ruling out Waterford return

Outgoing Waterford manager Michael Ryan has not ruled out making what would be a sensational return to the Déise managerial position.

Ryan stepped down from his position as Waterford hurling manager last weekend after a majority of players voted for a change in management for 2014.

Speaking on RTÉ's Championship Matters programme last night, Ryan revealed his unhappiness with the vote against him, emphasised that he felt he had done a good job in 2013, and refused to rule out putting his name forward again for the job.

"I was told when I took the job that priority was to stay in Division I," he said. "In the championship, we were in a good position against Clare at half-time but hit four wides at the start of the second half and hit 14 or 15 wides - and management didn't hit any of those.

"We beat Offaly and Westmeath and then played Kilkenny and, afterwards, Brian Cody told me that it was the first time that Waterford had gone toe-to-toe with them - so I was very surprised and disappointed."

He said he had got a lot of support since he left the position.

"There is a huge body of support out there for me. A lot of people are contacting me to put my name into the hat again. I don't know but I will think about it in the next week or so," he said.

"I have maybe a different style of management, I believe in assembling a strong back-room team and delegating. I think I have a lot to offer and, going forward, I hope to be involved in Waterford hurling in the future," he said.

Ryan also revealed on the programme how he came to learn of the players' unhappiness with his management. He met with county board officials on August 8, expecting to be ratified for another two years, but was told something quite different.

"They told me there was a problem, that some of the players had contacted one another and weren't happy, that they wanted a new manager and I was very surprised," he said.

"They (the players) had their meeting and the team vice-captain Noel Connors contacted me at 1pm on Sunday to say the players had voted for a change."