NSW Labor leader Michael Daley is facing a likely leadership challenge after the opposition performed below expectations in the weekend's state election.
Mr Daley conceded defeat on Saturday night after taking just one seat from the coalition and winning 33 per cent of the primary vote.
There was a state-wide one per cent swing against Labor while Mr Daley suffered a collapse in his own primary vote of 10 percentage points in Maroubra with 70 per cent of the ballots counted.
The Labor leader has only been in the top job for four months but after Saturday's poor result his days could well be numbered.
Labor frontbencher Jodi McKay is seen as a potential leadership contender along with Chris Minns who flirted with running for the job after previous leader Luke Foley resigned in early November.
Mr Daley on Sunday confirmed Ms McKay had offered him her support but said he hadn't spoken to Mr Minns.
"If there's a challenge or not, it's up to the members of the caucus," he told reporters in Maroubra.
"I am the best person to lead the party."
When asked if he'd spent the morning making calls to garner support back from party members, Mr Daley said it was "way too early" for that.
He claimed to have the support of federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten.
Mr Daley also pointedly said he had the backing of NSW Labor head office.
That's something Mr Minns has struggled to garner.
The member for Kogarah made comments upsetting the unions in his inaugural speech to parliament which ruffled many feathers, AAP understands.
Mr Minns has nonetheless left open the option of challenging Mr Daley, telling the Australian: "I'm not ruling anything out."
Under Labor Party rules an election loss automatically triggers a leadership ballot.
Mr Daley turned up to Sunday's beachside press conference with his wife and two children before blaming his loss on a lack of time to build his profile.
"I haven't had the time to establish myself," he said.
"I worked as hard as I could, but we lost a huge amount of time with the Christmas break."
Mr Daley wouldn't speculate on whether he'd continue as the member for Maroubra if he was ousted as leader, saying it was a "ridiculous question".
The opposition leader's final week of the campaign was a disaster.
A video from September emerged of Mr Daley telling a pub forum that Asian migrants were taking local jobs and then he stumbled on key numbers behind his education policies during a live television debate.
Mr Minns has been contacted for comment.
Australian Associated Press
