Kilkenny boss Brian Cody refused to be drawn on his future after the defeat to Cork in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

The Cats fell to a five-point loss on a 0-19 to 0-14 scoreline in Semple Stadium - it is the first time since 2005 that they have failed to reach the final and the first time in 16 years that they have missed out on a semi-final place.

Asked if this might be the end of his 14-year reign, Cody told RTÉ Sport: “I have no idea. Obviously, I don’t come in to today deciding that this is whatever it is. I’ve no idea at all.

"I feel the same as I do every other year about it. I have no idea, there’s no decision made about anything so I won’t even consider it for a long, long time.

"There has been a few 'ends of eras' predicted all along over the last number of years and I don’t think eras ever end, to be honest about it.

"If an end of a era means it’s the end of the Kilkenny senior hurling team being competitive at inter-county level I’d say it’s something that shouldn’t be allowed to happen so let’s wait and see.

“There is mileage on some of them [legs] and there’s not much mileage on others, but a team evolves, a team changes, individuals come and go and the team goes on."

"A team evolves, a team changes, individuals come and go and the team goes on" - Brian Cody

The All-Ireland champions were rattled by the dismissal of Henry Shefflin, the 34-year-old was red carded just before the break after receiving two yellow cards.

Cody was reluctant to be drawn on the issue.

"Look, I haven’t been talking about referees for a long, long time and I don’t want to start doing it today," he said.

"Straight away it’s [seen as] a situation of sour grapes and everything else but I have my own thoughts about that thing.

“I have my own thoughts about the referee as well. It’s not my way to start criticising things or using excuses, we don’t have excuses – we were beaten.

"The sending off is a separate issue that everyone else can have their own thoughts about.

"Everyone knows the player he is, everyone knows the game he plays, everyone knows his sportsmanship but it’s Cork’s day, Cork have won the day.

"We’re disappointed but we’re facing what we haven’t faced too often on the past. Our spirit is intact, that’s absolutely for certain.

"I suppose a lot of things went wrong for us, anyway, but you make things go right for you.

"At the end of the day we haven’t been making excuses down the line and we’re not going to start making excuses regarding things not going well for you."