"We won't make decisions like that now. We'll take a few weeks now to clear the head and think about things and evaluate the situation and that's what I'll do."

Will he stay or will he go? Anthony Daly will bide his time before making a decision on his future as Dublin senior hurling manager.

"Yeah, very happy with the win. It's great to be in an All-Ireland semi-final with the chance. We won't have much of a chance if we keep hurling like that! I was happy enough with the win but I don't think both teams will be happy with the way they played. I don't know what sort of match it was from your perspective but it didn't look great to me."

Tipp have a lot of work to do in advance of their semi-final clash with Cork according to manager Eamon O'Shea.

"You have to go out and want the ball and we didn't want the ball enough out there. The Tipp lads out-fought us for every ball and it's just not good enough. We can't be playing like that. That's the Dublin of old in the last two performances."

The bad ol' times returned for Michael Carton and Dublin hurling in Semple Stadium yesterday.

"I'm three years at it and I didn't realise how hard it was. We got to Croke Park last year, but that was kind of by default as it was a last-12 game (against Cork). We've made it on merit this year and that's what we wanted. Kerry will be favourites, but it's a great challenge to have and we are all looking forward to it."

Alan Mulholland has guided Galway to a last eight meeting against Kerry.

"There's great grounds for optimism. There's no soft touches anymore, but I think we have a lot of serious potential. We just maybe need to get a bit smarter with our defending, and a bit more cynical or clinical, depending on which word you want to use. I think we can push on again next year."

Despite their exit, Peter Creedon is optimistic about the future for Tipperary football.

"From early on, you could see that the heads were wanting to go places the bodies weren't able to bring them. You don't have to be a genius to look at a hurling match and see fellas out on their feet even in the first 35 minutes. I can't fault our fellas. It's been a tough couple of weeks and we just came up short."

Wexford's hurlers simply ran out of steam in the opinion of Liam Dunne.

"To be fair, playing four weeks in a row caught up on Wexford. It's not right. Playing four weeks in a row is very hard to do."

TJ Ryan echoed Dunne's sentiments.

"They're only human!"

Limerick top-scorer Shane Dowling had sympathy for his Wexford opponents.

"We were under so much pressure coming into this match, we just had to win it by hook or by crook. Showing a hand? I don't know. When it comes to games, you've a set-up going into it and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. You've to take each team on its merits. Mayo will cause us lots of different problems, with their size and their football."

Mayo looms over the horizon for Brian Cuthbert and the Cork footballers.

"I don't know that. After what happened last year, I don't know where I'll be..."

Once bitten, twice shy. After being shown the door by Westmeath last year, Sligo's Pat Flanagan is taking nothing for granted.

"It is time for a new voice and I wish the next manager well. He and the players who wear the red and black will always have my support."

James McCartan brought the curtain down on his five-year tenure as manager of the Down footballers. Tweet

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