Below are some quotes from the press conference...
What do you believe is going wrong at the moment?
“In its pure simplicity we have a number of players who are not playing to the standard that we expect of them, and football has always been a weight of numbers game and we’re not getting that at the moment. We came into the season, and I know people are sick of hearing it, but with some underdone players and not as conditioned enough as we would have liked. It seems to me just watching on the weekend that there was a lack of confidence and anxiety in the way we were going about things and we produced the result that you saw.”
Does the buck stop with Neil Craig?
“Invariably it does. In response to those people out there at the moment who are calling for blood, it is a very typical response in our business and we understand that. Four games in and with four months to go and 18 games there is so much of the season to play for still. The responsibility for our performances ultimately does lie with Neil... but we’re not about to make any drastic changes when we get in a little sticky patch after four weeks. We don’t like the patch that we’re in, in fact it sits very heavily and it’s almost an aching feeling at the moment, we just want to get out this spot. I’m saying that Neil has a responsibility for that, the players have a responsibility in terms of the way they go about it, the medical staff have a responsibility, I myself have a sense of responsibility across the board, Neil will take his responsibility, but I don’t think it’s at all appropriate for him to take the burden that invariably those guys take at this point in time.”
Do you regret the statement you made at the start of the year about top four ambitions?
“If we said to you that we want to make the eight and get our 12 wins and all of that you would walk out of the room and say you’re sick of hearing it. We had a higher expectation, you had a higher expectation on us, and I don’t actually think, to be blunt, whatever we said you would have had a higher expectation, we would still be in this situation at 0-4 where we would be copping some criticism. The short answer is no, I don’t regret for a moment going away from the usual routine of playing a dead bat on it and saying to the world you know what, we do expect more of ourselves this year. I think it was an appropriate thing to do.”
What are your expectations now?
“Our expectation now is to fight week by week, I think that’s the scenario we’re in now. I reluctantly draw on history that in 1997 in round four we went 1-3, and our supporters thought the sky was caving in because Port shouldn’t have beaten us. We got off the canvas and we actually did something quite reasonable. I honestly believe with four months to go we should keep an ambition to play finals footy. Our ambition at the moment is to fight; our ambition at the moment is to win a game on Friday night.”
“We know history suggests it’s (finals) a tall order, but when there’s hope there’s fight. I think that’s where we’re at at the moment.”
“Every senior player will have to take responsibility from here on in and I promise you that. They understand it as to what it means when they don’t perform.”
Best list?
“I’m still confident in saying it’s still a list that is capable of doing some tremendous things. At the moment it’s not and I understand that. We haven’t lost faith in this playing group by any stretch of the imagination. A real test for them is to get out of this pickle. I’m happy to say it publicly, we’re putting it on the players and we’re interested to see who is going to perform.”
Why are you going public today in support of Neil?
“I just felt it needed someone senior at the club to come out and say we’re supporting our players and particularly our coach in light of the criticism. That he’s doing everything he possibly can to get us out of this. Just on that, Neil’s win loss record remains outstanding across the comp. What he’s done with our list over the last few years remains outstanding across the comp. He is doing everything he possibly can with his group to make sure we are moving forward. I respond to the calls for his head by saying that’s pathetic, and it would also be pathetic of us to respond in such a short sighted way. What we need to do is support him and help him to make sure we get that playing group performing like what we want them to.”
