Davy Fitzgerald has admitted he thought he was going to be named Galway senior hurling manager before the surprise appointment of Henry Shefflin.
Fitzgerald stepped down as Wexford boss after five seasons in charge in late July, and he had been heavily linked with the Galway job before Kilkenny legend Shefflin landed his first intercounty management role.
Speaking on The Late Late Show, the All-Ireland winning Clare boss admitted he had been in discussions with Galway.
"Listen, I got a phone call two weeks ago to have a chat and I had one or two meetings with Galway and that," he said. "It just ended up where Henry ended up in the job and listen, he's got a great bunch of players and best of luck to him."
When asked if he thought the job was his, Fitzgerald nodded.
"Maybe, like, I thought I was going to go (to Galway) at one stage, yeah. But if it's not meant for you, it's not meant for you. You just move on and I'm that type of person. There's no problem. There's so many things ahead of me that I'm looking forward to next year, I can't wait."
Speaking about his time in charge of Wexford, Fitzgerald said: "Listen, I've loved every bit of it (managing Wexford). The journey up and down to Wexford is incredibly long and tough but the way I was treated down there was absolutely fantastic. Unbelievable people and the same in Clare and Waterford. I've been lucky, I've had a great 14 years in management, and playing then as well."