Michael Ryan brought the curtain down on his four-year reign as Westmeath hurling manager after this evening's All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final defeat to Wexford.

The former Waterford boss led the Lake County to an Allianz League Division 2A title in 2016, but a promotion / relegation playoff defeat to Laois meant they failed to gain promotion to Division 1B. Westmeath reached the Allianz League Division 2A and Joe McDonagh Cup finals this year, only to lose both to Carlow.

Among the highlights of his tenure were a 14-point Leinster SHC victory over Offaly in 2016 and an heroic All-Ireland qualifier performance against Tipperary in Thurles last summer which almost yielded a sensational victory.

"I am really proud of all the players. It's been some journey. My journey is at an end now but we've had some fantastic days and hopefully the team can go from strength to strength as there's a good base there now," the Fourmilewater man said in a statement.

Ryan's departure leaves Westmeath on the lookout for new senior hurling and football managers after Colin Kelly also stepped down from the football hot-seat after just one season in charge last month.

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- westmeathgaaofficial (@westmeath_gaa) July 7, 2018

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