Penrith supremo Phil Gould believes Ivan Cleary will coach for another decade in the NRL despite his axing by the Panthers.
Cleary was sensationally dumped by the Panthers on Monday with one year remaining on his contract.
Gould unveiled Anthony Griffin as the Panthers’ new mentor on Wednesday on a three-year deal.
Cleary joined the struggling Panthers in 2012 after leading the Warriors to the 2011 grand final.
He did well to revive the club as a premiership force leading them to a preliminary final in 2014.
However this year the Panthers only just avoided the wooden spoon courtesy of a final-round win over last-placed Newcastle.
Cleary spent two years as Sydney Roosters reserve grade coach before spending six years with the Warriors and four with the Panthers and was in need of a break, according to Gould.
“Twelve years of unbroken service has been an outstanding effort from Ivan, I am quite sure he is only halfway through his career at this time,” Gould said.
“Ivan is a very proud and competitive person and while he won’t admit to needing a break at this time I felt it was the right time for him to take a step back and get a breath of fresh air and get ready for the next part of his career.”
Gould made the decision to sack Cleary, a shock move supported by Panthers powerbrokers.
The former NSW State of Origin coach said he understood he was now under pressure to help make Griffin’s appointment work.
“It was extremely difficult the Ivan Cleary decision and it’s my decision, I made that call, I’ll stand by it and I’ll be accountable for it,” Gould said.
“With all my experience, all my heart and all my gut I believe it was the right thing for Ivan and for us at this time.
“We’ve been mates for 20 years and it’s not an easy thing to do. I believe this club needed a new direction and I believe Ivan needed a spell.
“We wanted to act swiftly and get it done properly and I think we have handled this whole situation with great integrity.”
Cleary has previously been linked to a return to the Warriors and the Auckland-based franchise’s current coach Andrew McFadden will want to earn some early season wins in 2016 to ensure that speculation doesn’t increase.
mark howard
Guest
I doubt any coach who has been sacked from a club ( as opposed to leaving ) has ever been a successful coach at the top Level again .The players just don't accept the credibility of the coach and disfunction eventually follows
Mike from Tari
Guest
Bit of a snake our PHIL Gould, hope someone at 9 says the same thing to him.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
At least Gould has the guts to make plain his motives for sacking Cleary, if he's in charge and he believes a change is necessary then it's his job to make those tough decisions. It's always easy to be critical if you don't see the big picture.
Michael
Guest
Should Cleary saw out his contract and stayed another year would not have made a difference, they would not have made major contributions in the club moving forward. People can argue that the injury toll suffered by Panthers this year was the liability for club going forward, it's unfortunate but then again it's a business decision and the Panthers are looking to the future with a new appointed coach and plan.
Birdy
Guest
Gould must be right , David Lord seriously considers him to be the new NRL CEO." Go baby!" Wadaya think Rabs?"
curaeus
Guest
Hard to argue with anything you've said
Samtwocan
Guest
Once Ivan gets the knives removed from his back and the wounds heal sufficiently he will be right to go again ,,,, Gee thanks Phil I'm glad you know what's best for me .
ferret
Guest
Replacing Cleary with Griffin, Wow!! One took a consistently under-performing team (Warriors) to a grand final and also a club in transition (Penrith) to the preliminary final one year ago. The other took a great club with huge resources and talent pool, backwards over 4 years. I can't see the logic, but then again Gus is a genius, just ask him.
Shades Carter
Roar Rookie
Not a good move to sack Cleary, remember Penrith lost the majority of their players to injury. Had they all not been injured, the Panthers season could've finished in the top 8. (My opinion).