Anthony Cunnigham to meet Galway officals on Sunday night

Galway officials are to meet senior hurling manager Anthony Cunningham later on Sunday to discuss the vote of 'no confidence' by players in the senior hurling management.

Only last Monday Cunningham, who took Galway to last month’s All-Ireland final, was ratified for another year in charge - his fifth - but news emerged over the weekend of player discontent with the re-appointment, with the Sunday Times reporting that a meeting in Clarinbridge, ostensibly to discuss the team holiday, voted overwhelmingly for change.

There is further resentment at the fact that players maintain they had communicated their feelings to Cunningham in advance of last week’s ratification meeting, which went ahead regardless.

Cunningham is the only manager since Cyril Farrell a quarter of a century ago to have managed more than one Galway team to reach an All-Ireland final but the county is still without a Liam MacCarthy Cup since 1988. Three years ago the county won a Leinster championship and beating Kilkenny in the final and took the same opponents to a replay before losing that year's All-Ireland.

Despite poor seasons that followed in 2013 and ‘14, Cunningham was appointed for a further two-year term - subject to annual review - 12 months ago but with a new management team.

There had been previous player unrest at the end of this year’s league, which ended disappointingly with defeat in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Waterford.

Official reaction to the developments has been delayed by local county championship fixtures but it is expected that the meeting between officials and Cunningham will take place this evening.