Parramatta coach Brad Arthur insists he never lost faith in his players, despite having the axe hover over his head as a result of last year’s wooden spoon.
The Eels announced on Tuesday that Arthur had secured a two-year contract extension, a reward for Parramatta’s strong start to the season.
The club originally wanted to wait until June to decide the future of the coach, however the performances over the opening two months of the season convinced the Eels he was the right man for the job.
Arthur told NRL.com he never felt in danger of being sacked.
“I’m a realist, and I know this is a results-driven business. I get that part of it,” Arthur said.
“I know it wasn’t a great year last year and it wasn’t acceptable. But I never lost faith in the team. I feel like we’ve done a lot of hard work over many years. Things don’t just happen overnight. The club has supported us and no one has whinged and complained. We’ve got on with it.
What does Arthur's re-signing mean for Gutherson?
“I knew there was always the possibility of losing the job. I knew that. I knew I was under pressure. But the club has been fantastic and always reassured me that they knew I was the right person for the job.
"The review of the overall club and my position last year, I think that helped that as well. The club has always been committed to helping support me. I never felt like I lost the right to coach this club.”
Arthur’s signing is the first major contract renewal at a club with a plethora of talent looking for new deals.
Eels issue Gutherson contract ultimatum
However Arthur wouldn’t be drawn into speculation around skipper Clint Gutherson and the other off-contract players.
“All we can worry about it is exactly what we can do right now,” Arthur said.
“That’s our next training session. That’s our next performance. We can only worry about what’s next, not three or four weeks away. As a team, we don’t talk about stuff we have no control over. We talk about attitude. The will and the want and the heart to wear the jersey.”
Arthur is into his sixth season in charge at the Eels but has only managed to take the club to one finals series.
One of the discussion points around his contract renewal was a desire to see more consistency from the football team.
“I’ve got somethings in there that are important to club – being consistent both on and off the field. We want to be in a better position next year. Then the year after that we want to be in a better position than that.
“It’s great to continue with this club. I really feel like the club is heading in the right direction. Being out in the Hills area, seeing all the good young kids coming through.
"I feel like the club has real stability. The other part of it is this playing group. I’m close to them and want to work with them. I’m the lucky person. It’s a privilege to coach this team.”
Replies
Thats an incredible statement form a coach who in 5-6 years has made 1 finals appearance, never won a Premeirship, won wooden spoons, has the worst percentage for the most points scored against his coached Eels, has the worst record for away games for his coached Eels teams, has his coached Eels team get smashed 64-10, doesnt know to use his bench adequately, etc......etc.....etc...... I cannot believe Im actually reading such an outrageous statement!
My apologies BrissyEel! He has won with his Eels team in the past 5-6 years No Premierships, 1 Wooden Spoon, made the Finals once, Worst percentage of any Eels coached team for away wins, just had his current Eels coached team thrashed ,annihilated, embarrassed with a scoreline of 64-10 with a 2nd half 7 tries to 0 scored against them etc.....etc.......etc........ I still cant believe Im reading such a statement.
My health has never been better Chong ( oops sorry Wong). Now why would I copy you and embrace utter failure and negativity? Perhaps you could put some pictures on here of your own knitting and crocheting skills with your Uncle Brad. It might inspire.
I'm really starting to think Brad might have some undiagnosed Autism.
Nothing wrong with that at all, some of the most interesting and nice people i know have Autism, not knocking him but i hope he's getting the right help for it.
Snake. LOL. Undiagnosed LMAO.
Is it the tie that gave it away? I've yet to see it straight.
If he was ASD the tie would be meticulous .nah my youngest is on the spectrum , the only ASD trait I see is inflexible thinking tbh
LOL, I'm too numb to have an opinion at this stage, but that's funny shit. And for the record, I have a nephew with Autism, the little blokes a champion, he can name and spell any country in the world in alphabetical order, it's amazing to witness.
Most clubs would have terminated him following the wooden spoon of 2018. If sport in Australia was like it is here in England and other European countries, Arthur would have been sacked mid way through 2015.
Long time reader of 1EE, happy to just read and catch up on what's going on....till this week and the resigning of BA.
Don't get me wrong, I think BA is a great asset to the club and I was a firm backer till mid way through last year. Complacency breeds comtempt, and his failure last year (and this one) to drop underperforming players means we end up with these inconsistent results.
I still can't believe the club extended him. Totally gobsmacked actually.
I wanted coaching change as much as the next bloke but when will people understsnd we have to pick from the squad of 30
If there are injuries in tge squad then you can only swap underperformed players around you can't drop them. Simple maths.
They can be "injured" of course but then we can't know if they were really dropped.
Apologies if I have misunderstood your post.