To the doubtless relief of Wexford fans, Davy Fitzgerald confirmed that he would be continuing his spell in charge of the county's senior hurlers on Thursday night.
Despite rumours that Fitzgerald was set to leave Wexford and possibly take on a vacant role with Galway, he has now committed to a further two years in Ireland's south-east.
In conversation with Today FM, however, the Clare native explained how close he came to leaving the job behind him after this year's narrow All-Ireland semi-final defeat.
"Straight after the game," he admitted, "I told the chairman, 'Listen, I can't do this anymore, I can't do this drive.'
"He just asked me to take six to seven weeks and trust me, I needed every bit of that because it isn't a straight forward decision.
"People might think you should just make your mind up but there are a lot of factors: travel, one or two personal things as well.
"It just took me a long time."
Admitting that he had never wanted the speculation to drag out as long as it did, Davy Fitzgerald is excited by the prospect of working with the county's players once more.
"I'm delighted the decision is made and a lot of that is down to the players being so good to me," he explained, "and, being honest, the supporters as well have been fantastic."
He was careful, however, to temper expectations after what has been a memorable year for Wexford hurling.
"I'm managing a long time," he said, "and you don't get many years like that, I can promise you.
"There are a lot of ups and downs on the management side of things, but I'm really happy.
"Earlier in the week, my mind was leaning a different way and that's a fact, but I went with my gut at the very end."
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