Keith Rossiter considers future as Wexford hurling manager

It’s mid-May and the Wexford Senior hurlers are officially out of the Leinster Championship and the All-Ireland series…

Although they still have to take on Galway next week in Wexford Park, pride is the only factor at play for Wexford. A win for Wexford cannot see them jump into third place.

For Galway, while they are effectively qualified for the All-Ireland series, their progression to the Leinster Final is not guaranteed, and they are competing in a tight round-robin table alongside Kilkenny and Dublin. The Tribesmen will enter the Wexford clash with a strong desire to win and reach the Leinster final, so they won’t be resting any players in Round 5.

It’s not a season that Wexford players, management, or fans would have hoped for.

Rossiter, now coming to the end of his three year contract, has told RTÉ that he, alongside the Wexford GAA County Board and the advisory committee, will be considering his future with the Wexford Senior hurling team. Speaking to RTÉ, the Oulart-The Ballagh man said:

For Rossiter, it’s been a frustrating couple of seasons and he acknowledges that his future with Wexford isn’t guaranteed.

“I have a young family at home, they probably miss daddy a bit. I’ve a wife that’s very patient, so there’s going to be a couple of weeks or a couple of months of silence…. a couple of days away somewhere and we can have a chat about it then.”

“In every job you have a boss, my boss is the county board, chairman John Kenny and the board behind it. We’ve hurling advisory committees in Wexford as well, so it’s an open and honest, frank conversation between all the parties and that’s where it’s going to be. That’s what it comes down to, being open and honest and frank behind closed doors and having a good chat about it. All parties need to be on the one page and that’s it.”

“For 2026 it’s been disappointing from a Wexford point of view. Getting a lot of young lads through I’m very happy with, it’s just they need to stick at it now. Whatever way it goes for 2027 they need to stick at it and wear the jersey with pride.”

Rossiter’s comments come after Wexford’s disappointing Round 4 loss to Offaly in Tullamore on Saturday. The Wexford manager has not been blessed with luck during his reign as Senior hurling manager. Questionable refereeing decisions, ghost goals, and plenty of players opting out of the squad made a difficult task even more difficult.

2026, likely to be Rossiter’s last year in charge, was a particularly difficult one from a fan’s perspective too. Perhaps, the writing was on the cards earlier in the season when Wexford were barely scraping over teams such as Antrim, Down, and Carlow in the Allianz Hurling League. Losing players such as Rory O’Connor, Conor McDonald, Cathal Dunbar, and Eoin Ryan didn’t help the cause — but to be fair to the Oulart clubman, he never used this as an excuse once.

Wexford have one more game remaining in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship. It’s a time to restore some pride in Wexford hurling, albeit their task has become even more difficult considering Galway are unlikely to rest any players. Galway still require a win in their last game to reach a Leinster final after drawing with Dublin on Saturday.