Rory Gallagher resigns as Donegal senior football manager

Gallagher's Donegal suffered a surprisingly heavy defeat in Galway in the fourth round of the qualifiers

Rory Gallagher has resigned as manager of Donegal's senior football panel - nine days after the county's crushing 15-point defeat by Galway.

Gallagher agreed a new three-year deal in 2016 but has opted to stand down in the wake of the 4-17 to 0-14 hammering in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Fermanagh native Gallagher succeeded Jim McGuinness in 2014 having earlier served three years as his assistant.

Donegal were defeated by Tyrone in this year's Ulster semi-finals.

That put Gallagher's men into the second round of the qualifiers in which they saw off Longford, followed by a narrow 1-15 to 1-14 victory over Meath.

Donegal were then drawn to face Galway in Sligo and the manner of their defeat saw 38-year-old Gallagher come in for strong criticism.

The county board announced Gallagher's departure on social media on Monday night and issued a statement on Tuesday to "place on record their thanks and appreciation to Rory Gallagher for his massive contribution to the county's footballers over the last seven years".

"Rory's huge input into Donegal claiming three Ulster titles ('11, '12, '14) and the All-Ireland crown ('12) was telling and his replenishment of the panel in 2017 following a spate of retirements means that our young footballers are on a firm standing to build on their introduction to senior inter-county football in the coming seasons," read the statement.

"We'd also like to thank the various people who formed his backroom teams since 2015. Rory leaves Donegal in Division 1 of the Allianz Leagues.

"In the coming weeks, our attentions will turn to identifying a suitable and quality replacement to carry on the good work and structures Rory leaves in place. "