John Mullane thinks Pat Ryan’s departure from the Cork hurling hotseat was badly handled by the county board.

As chairman Pat Horgan, vice-chairman Noel O’Callaghan and CEO Kevin O’Donovan begin the search for Ryan’s replacement, Mullane believed Ryan would still be the manager if he had been offered a one-year extension rather than three, which has been widely reported.

“I was a bit shocked. I thought he'd stay on for another year,” the Waterford great told the Indo Sport podcast.

“Look, we're only getting snippets of what's coming out now in the aftermath of him being... I wouldn't say 'let go,' but not deciding to go to push on and agree to the three-year term that the Cork county board were asking him to do.

“For me, personally, I think the Cork county board have let him down. I think this craic of a ‘three-year vision’, albeit his three-year term was up. I think he had enough credit in the bank to go and approach the county board on his terms, rather than the county board approaching Pat Ryan and seeking him for their terms.”

He added: “I think they should have gone to Pat Ryan and said, 'Right Pat, we want you to be our man next year. Don't mind your three-year vision, our vision is to win the All-Ireland in 2026.'

“Sit down with Pat Ryan, [ask] 'What do we have to improve? What changes do we have to tweak to get us over the line next year?' I don't think Cork have to reinvent the wheel going forward for the next couple of years.”

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