Ger Loughnane has firmly sided with Anthony Cunningham in the Galway hurling standoff.

Cunningham's future as Galway manager is in doubt after the players passed a motion of 'no confidence' in him, just days after he was reappointed for a fifth year. But Loughnane, a former Galway manager himself, believes the players - and not Cunningham - should take the blame for the second half collapse against Kilkenny in last month's All-Ireland final.

"Galway have plenty of players who talk the talk. But walking the walk? With many of them, forget about it," Loughnane writes in the Irish Daily Star.

"When they should be looking in the mirror after their All-Ireland final collapse against Kilkenny, instead they've take the cowardly route and turned on Anthony Cunningham.

"Reports of a revolt in the west don't surprise me. As far back as last March and the eight-point defeat to Waterford in the league semi-final, there were whispers of the players meeting together and airing their dissatisfaction with the management to the county board.

"Rewind to the events of September 6 and think of where those players found themselves. They led Kilkenny by three points at half-time. They'd played some excellent hurling and showed plenty of bite and attitude.

"The MacCarthy Cup was up for grabs. They had to push on. Instead, they collapsed. That wasn't Cunningham's fault. He couldn't hold their hands when Kilkenny turned the screw.

"Blaming the manager is a pathetic cop-out. Cunningham did a fine job with Galway this year." 

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