Davy Fitzgerald has revealed he has previously backed out of taking the job as Galway manager but would “definitely listen” if approached again.
The Clare native stepped down as Waterford boss at the start of this month, a day before Henry Shefflin departed the Galway hotseat.
Fitzgerald reckons he has plenty more to give on the sideline and sees Galway as a county with tonnes of potential.
“They definitely should be challenging way more than what they are,” Fitzgerald told The GAA Social podcast.
“They should be right there or thereabouts. I feel there’s even more young talent there. I feel a mix of young and old right now would be really good for them. They could do it.
“Everything has to align. You need county board, you need players, everyone on the same wavelength.
“People are funny how they think. I’ve had one or two fellas I’m in business with and friendly with from up there saying, ‘Listen, we’ll get onto the Galway County Board and say it to them.’ They’re the only calls I’ve had.
“I’d definitely listen but things have to align. You never know what project is out there. There are different things that would excite me that you’d think, ‘He’d never do that.’
“If I thought there was a real ambition for someone to do something different and for things to really align good, be it at Galway or somewhere else, I’d listen to it. I want someone that’s really ambitious.”
Fitzgerald outlined how he turned down the Galway job at the end of 2019 and was contacted again about the position in 2021.
“Four years ago, I had an opportunity to take it,” he said. “Let’s just say it was pretty nailed on.
“I pulled at the last second because the time I had in Wexford was unreal and the players were incredibly loyal.
“I’d my mind made up, I was gone. The chairman Derek Kent, after the game against Tipp in ‘19, I told him, ‘Listen, I can’t do this. I’m just wrecked. I’m going.’ He said, ‘Davy, take six weeks now. Don’t say nothing.’
“After about four or five, I was approached by someone, spent a good bit of time with them, and that was would I do Galway.
“Eventually, after a few weeks, I was humming and hawing. I rang and I told that person that I’d do it. That was on a Saturday. They were meant to announce it the following Thursday.
“On the Wednesday, I got a few calls from two (Wexford) players and what they said to me emotionally blackmailed me. I remember saying to Sharon that ‘I can’t leave them down.’
“So I changed my mind. I had to ring that other person back. I didn’t really want to leave them down because he’s an unbelievable person that I’ve worked with before.
“We roll on two years from that and the Galway job came up again. It was right there. I said to them that ‘I understand what I did the last time but don’t talk to me unless you’re serious. If you want to get someone else, go and do it.’
“I was led to believe it was there. A few hours before Henry was unveiled, they told me that they’d had a change of mind. It was probably payback for the last time. Do I hold a grudge? Not at all.”