Geoff Toovey insists his future at Manly isn’t under threat despite the club failing to inform him they’d set a deadline for Daly Cherry-Evans to sign a new contract.
Toovey guided the Sea Eagles to three top-four finishes and a grand final since taking over from Des Hasler in 2011, but there’s been continued speculation the club are trying to move him on and replace him with Parramatta’s Brad Arthur.
The club’s former premiership-winning halfback admitted on Thursday he had no idea chief executive Joe Kelly had set a deadline of last Monday for Daly Cherry-Evans to sign a new contract.
That offer was withdrawn on Wednesday evening after Kelly became frustrated at a lack of answers from Cherry-Evans’ management and Toovey admitted he was blind-sided by the news which broke when he was appearing on a TV show.
“My job is to focus the players on football. I will have some input (in player recruitment) but on this particular occasion I wasn’t involved with the deadline,” Toovey said on Thursday.
“I am not involved in those matters and don’t like talking about individual contracts. My job is to get the players focused on footy.”
Although a united board is now in place at Manly after years of infighting between the Penn and Delmege families, the off-field dramas continue.
Manly great Toovey has been forced to defend his position as coach but claimed he was still confident of seeing out the remaining two years on his contract and didn’t need to seek assurances on his position from the board.
“As far as I know I am here for another two years. We have done really well in the three years I have been in charge and we’ll continue to build,” he said.
“We have some great young kids coming through with bright futures and the plans for the oval and the training facilities are very exciting.”
In addition to Cherry-Evans being off-contract, star five-eighth Kieran Foran is yet to sign and unlike his teammate a deadline hasn’t been set for him to give the club an answer.
“Kieran is still undecided on his future,” Toovey said.
“But we’re still quietly confident he’ll stay here. His best football is still in front of him and I believe it should be with the Manly club.”
The build-up to Friday’s clash with Parramatta has been dominated by former Sea Eagle back-rower Anthony Watmough firing a verbal spray at the club he represented for 12 years before moving to the Eels.
Toovey said he had no issues with the NSW and Test star and claimed he’s been great publicity for the game.
“I love ‘Choc’ and I was disappointed he left the club,” he said.
“He’s a great football player and he’ll have plenty to say.
“He’s a marketing dream for Parramatta. Love him or hate him, people are going to turn up to see him. He’s a great competitor .. but you have to take what he says with a grain of salt.”
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