GAELIC GAMES/Ulster SFC:Joe Kernan won't be making any decision on his future until next month but he hasn't ruled out staying on for what would be a seventh year in charge and he believes that the quality of new players coming through in the county gives plenty of hope for the future.

The Armagh manager was speaking the day after his side's shock departure from this year's All-Ireland race. That defeat by Derry means that Armagh won't be contesting the quarter-finals for the first time since Kernan took over six years ago.

There has been inevitable speculation about the future given so many of his established players are close to retirement. Of the 2002 All-Ireland winning team seven had already retired although Diarmuid Marsden came back this season in answer to the injury crisis that blitzed the county's chances of success.

Others such as Kieran McGeeney, Paul McGrane, Francie Bellew, still recovering from a cruciate operation, Enda McNulty, Oisín McConville, as well as Marsden, are all into their 30s and have covered a lot of road in the past 10 years.

"I decided to do what we have always done," said Kernan, "and that's give it a few weeks before coming to any decision. We spoke in the dressingroom afterwards and all of us agreed that there'd probably be questions but if we were asked about the future we'd say that we're taking a bit of time to come to a decision.

"I also talked to the county board afterwards and they said that I'd their full support in whatever decision I decided to take."

Although he understands his senior players may feel it's time to drop the curtain on their distinguished careers, he believes that view is hasty.

"My view is they shouldn't do it but it's up to them to decide that and if they do end up stepping down there are younger players there who now have two or three years' experience."

In promoting the amount of redevelopment work already done in the county panel Kernan sounds like someone who hasn't tired of the challenge.

"Yesterday (Sunday) there was only six of the 2000 team starting and only 11 of the panel. That's 19 changes. Since then we've won a couple of Ulster under-21s and an All-Ireland under-21, maybe we were unlucky not to add another one this year. There's new blood coming through."

He also disagrees that any impending retirements will remove crucial leadership figures as well as great players. "There are leaders coming through as well. When influential players retire others come through."

The gloom surrounding the weekend's defeat - "the worst dressingroom I can remember" - he feels has distracted from the ongoing competitiveness of the team since winning the 2002 All-Ireland, which was badly disrupted this year by a plague of injuries, including four cruciate ligament ruptures and the loss of two key forwards, Ronan Clarke and Brian Mallon.

"We were still winning trophies. This is the first time since 2003 that we haven't won something and even that year we reached the All-Ireland final and came within a few points and a bad sending-off decision of winning."

Last year, in what was the match of the season, Armagh had the chance to put Kerry under severe pressure but wasted some good scoring opportunities before losing out in the second half. "Less than 12 months ago we were as good as there was around. We should have scored more in the first half but with a few minutes to go that was a two-point game until we made a mistake that settled it."

Kernan says that although the county's enduring presence in the All-Ireland series has taken a lot out of them on a yearly basis, they have recovered from what looked like terminal defeats before and he cites the quarter-final defeat by Fermanagh.

"After 2004 we came back and won the National League, won another Ulster and were very unlucky to lose to Tyrone in the All-Ireland semi-final by the last kick of the game.

"There's a whole battery of talent coming through. Kevin Dyas came on and played excellently. James Lavery is another, so in key areas we have good young lads coming through. If we didn't have those players people would be feeling a lot worse now."