Meath manager Seamus McEnaney has said he will make a decision on his future this week after his side’s Championship exit at the hands of Laois.

The Royals staged a late rally in Tullamore, but even a Peadar Byrne goal was not enough to prevent them slipping to a 1-15 to 1-12 defeat.

McEnaney said he has really enjoyed his time working with the youngsters in the squad, and will not procrastinate about his next move.

“I won’t delay in making my decision; my decision will be made in the next four or five days,” he told RTÉ’s Ger Canning.

Just as they had in the Leinster final against Dublin a week earlier, Meath gave themselves a mountain to climb against the Midlanders.

But for the second time in less than a week the Royals finished strongly and were left to think of what could have been had they been more clinical in their play.

“We gave a battling performance,” Banty said. “But, you know, at the end of the day it’s about results, and it was about a result today more than a performance from our point of view.”

The conditions were difficult at O’Connor Park, with wind and rain sweeping across the Co Offaly venue.

But the Monaghan native insisted the weather was not a determining factor.

“It was the same for the both teams, and we wouldn’t be using that as an excuse,” he said.

“The bottom line is we gave away too much ball at times, and we created opportunities and didn’t take them, and we conceded some handy scores at the other end.”

McEnaney was also standing by his pre-match claim that they six-day turnaround after their provincial decider disappointment would not affect his charges.

He said fitness was not an issue, and claimed his men could “have played for another 10 minutes” if necessary.

And the Meath supremo was happy that his side had made significant progress under his stewardship.

“The one thing for certain sure here is that there are battling qualities back in this Meath team,” he said.

“We’ve introduced nine debutants over the last two years, they’ve played exceptionally well.

“We’ve played six Championship matches in 2012, and that’s great for Meath football.”