West Coast are backing in Adam Simpson to stay on the helm, with chairman Paul Fitzpatrick saying they “have faith” within the embattled coach regardless of mounting stress within the wake of Saturday’s history-making loss.
Issuing a name to arms to followers, saying the membership wanted them “more than ever,” Fitzpatrick urged the blue-and-gold military to remain affected person within the face of one of many worst stretches of kind the competitors has ever seen.
The Eagles suffered the fourth-biggest defeat in AFL/VFL historical past, dropping to Sydney by a club-record 171 factors.
The end result on the again of a twelfth consecutive loss by greater than 40 factors or extra – additionally a league report – was met with widespread criticism, with some followers and consultants together with Kane Cornes and Mark Maclure calling for the Eagles to take motion and half methods with the 2018 premiership coach.
But in a letter to members, a defiant Fitzpatrick mentioned Simpson was the precise man to place the Eagles on “the path we need to take to fight our way back”.
“Obviously, Adam Simpson and his coaching staff have been limited with what they can do with such a long injury list, but regardless we cannot tolerate performances of that nature and we expect a strong response against St Kilda next Sunday,” he mentioned.
“We do have faith that Adam can take this team forward and we also believe in the path we need to take to fight our way back.
“It will take time because the long-term strategy revolves around bringing in more high-end young talent through the draft to lay solid foundations for the next era.
“In closing, we do hear you and we urge you to stick with us through this. We need you more than ever. It will turn because everyone at the club is prepared to roll up their sleeves and get it done. “
Fitzpatrick called the 171-point loss as “one of the darkest days in the history of the football club”, capping a 40-game stretch the place the Eagles have mustered simply three wins.
“Losing in the way that we did to Sydney was unacceptable. The 171-point margin aside, what we produced on the field was not representative of what the West Coast Eagles has stood – and still stands – for,” he mentioned.
“We know our members and fans are hurting and so is everyone inside the football club.
“We all take a degree of responsibility for where we sit currently and equally we are all committed to fighting our way through this situation.
“It is important to get games into young players and fast track their development. We had nine players under the age of 21 take the field against the Swans and we expect them to be very good AFL players.
“But we need our senior players to set a better example for them. With a couple of exceptions many of the experienced players were well down yesterday.”
The assertion got here after Eagles gamers and workers – together with chief govt Trevor Nisbett – descended on the membership’s Mineral Resources Park headquarters on Sunday morning to evaluate the fallout from their newest thrashing.
Speaking after Saturday’s loss, Simpson insisted he was nonetheless the precise man for the job regardless of labelling the end result “unacceptable” and “embarrassing”.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
