West Coast coach Adam Simpson admits the Eagles are looking for solutions after the worst lack of his nine-year, 213-game tenure and says he understands why his place is being questioned.
Licking their wounds at Lathlain on Monday after the 116-point defeat by the hands of then-18th-placed Hawthorn, Simpson conceded there was a scarcity of effort from his gamers on Sunday.
“We are missing lots of players but we want to bring effort every week. When we perform well, that’s always the basis of what we do,” he instructed 7NEWS.
“It didn’t look like that on the weekend, we’ve got to dig into why and what happened and what we can do to turn it around.”
The criticism started earlier than the Eagles had landed again in Perth on Sunday night time, with membership nice Glen Jakovich calling for Simpson to be sacked.
The 2018 premiership coach, who’s contracted to the top of 2025, mentioned he understood the criticism.
“I understand the questions, I get all that,” Simpson mentioned.
“We really need strong leadership at the moment… there’s no quick fix.
“There’s going to be days like this and there’s going to be better days coming.
“You’ve just got to stay resilient and lead as best you can. That’s all I’m doing and that’s all I’ll continue to do.
“We’ve got a game in six days. There’s a lot of noise around as well. We’ve just got to bunker down and get the best out of ourselves this week, regardless of who’s playing. “
The Eagles will be without utility Jamaine Jones, who was on crutches post-game, for their clash with Essendon at Optus Stadium on Saturday, while stand-in skipper Liam Duggan and star forward Oscar Allen were also banged up.
Simpson said it was too early in the week to know but they might regain two or three players this weekend.
“Maybe, there might be a couple (of reinforcements). We’re hoping, slowly, the soldiers are coming back,” he mentioned.
“I think in the next three weeks, we’ll definitely get (Shannon) Hurn, (Elliot) Yeo, (Tom) Barrass, (Luke) Shuey and maybe (Jeremy) McGovern.
“And that’ll help. That’ll help with our leadership and hopefully with our performances.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
