They don’t think about the fans: Gould’s harsh advice for Knights over Brown exit
Knights coach
Nathan Brown will leave the club effective immediately. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
Nathan Brown and the Knights were never going to have an amicable few weeks.
After he resigned last week, the conclusion should have been to walk away from the club.
The result was a 46-4 thrashing at the hands of the Wests Tigers, spoiling a shot at the finals and ruining a few reputations along with it.
It was clear to Brown he no longer had the support of the players, and just three days later he was gone.
It’s a situation former Panthers boss Phil Gould successfully avoided when he sacked coach Anthony Griffin following Round 21 last season.
At the time the team was sitting fifth on the ladder, but Gould saw a situation was turning sour and acted.
The Panthers still made the finals.
Prior to Brown’s sudden exit on Tuesday, Gould told Channel 9’s 100% Footy: “When it’s done, it’s done. Over. Out.”
“I wonder how
Nathan Brown fronts up to training with these players this week and what the conversations are going to be like,” he said in an eerie nod to what was to come.
“And how they get ready to keep their season alive, and what are the fans thinking?
“And for any ‘weak minds’ within that team, and we saw the weak minds on the weekend. “How are they going to justify their performance last week and then justify any sort of improvement this week?
“What sort of lack of pride did they have in their own professional performance to go out and perform like that, when their team and that jersey is still in contention for a top eight spot?
“There are fans from Newcastle that travelled to follow them.
“They just put themselves first, players. They really do. They don’t think about the game, they don’t think about the fans, they don’t think about their teammates or their club, and it’s disgraceful, it really is.
“But it’s a lesson again. When it’s done, it’s done. Over. Out.”
Hindsight is a marvellous thing.
