AFL premiership coach Mark Thompson has a basic warning for Nathan Buckley – the Collingwood players will save or doom you.
Thompson has great sympathy for the embattled Magpies coach and knows exactly what he is going through.
He went close to being sacked from Geelong at the end of 2006, only to lead them to their drought-breaking 2007 premiership and another two years later.
Collingwood’s Anzac Day loss to Essendon inevitably ramped up the pressure on Buckley, with their failure in the biggest home-and-away game of the season leaving the Magpies floundering at 1-4.
Last August, Buckley acknowledged his coaching future at Collingwood was tied to making the finals this season.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire pledged support to Buckley on Wednesday and is adamant the club will not turn on their own.
Thompson said Buckley’s priority must be to make sure of the relationship with his players.
“You’ve got to get to your players and keep talking to them – they don’t deliberately go out and lose,” Thompson told Fox Sports.
“They are the ones who are going to save your job.
“It (the pressure) is horrendous – everywhere you walk, you think people are looking at you.
“You think you’re a failure, but what you have to do, if he wants to fight for his job, he has to let all that go and just get to his players and just be positive.”
Collingwood are far from the AFL’s worst team this season – their biggest losing margin is only 19 points.
But their forward line is impotent and they will need a massive turnaround to threaten the top eight.
Again, Buckley put it best when he said after Tuesday’s loss that they are not far off, but they are a mile off.
Since Buckley took over from Mick Malthouse in McGuire’s controversial succession plan, the Magpies have slid from fourth in 2012 to 12th for the past two seasons and their last final appearance was in 2013.
On Wednesday, McGuire strongly defended Buckley and backed him to turn around the floundering team’s fortunes.
“Every time I’ve looked to Nathan Buckley as a player, as a person, as a coach he has never let me or Collingwood down,” McGuire said.
“There has been no greater servant of the Collingwood Football Club.
“There is no better person to have our club’s future in his hands than Nathan Buckley.”
And McGuire, president since 1999, said their on-field woes would not cause off-field division.
“We’ll never give up, we’ll never dog it, we won’t turn on our own,” McGuire told TripleM.
“We won’t desolate people who give to the club day in and day out and we don’t turn on our people. We stand side-by-side.”
Collingwood’s next assignment is unbeaten Geelong on Sunday at the MCG.
“Geelong are a great club, they might beat us but I tell you what. It will be the spirit of Collingwood that will be tested on Sunday afternoon,” McGuire said.
Julian Noel
Guest
Love your Pie passion Ian. We are in totally different camps. At season's end one of us will be right and one wrong.... time will tell. I am curious, what do you base you faith on? What has happened in the past 6 years that makes you think the Hubris brothers will deliver success to our club this year... or the next... or the year after? I really want to know what fuels your passion about this. For me, I base my position on the following.... every year further down the ladder. Every year excuse after excuse. Every year more good players, and staff leaving... good Collingwood men... barely replaced like for like... TBH, I never backed Bucks as a coach, ever. My gut instinct never sat easily with the succession plan. At the start of every season I would cross my fingers and hope I was wrong in my assessment. I would have been so happy to be wrong. For 5 years I have sadly reflected on his travails... resigned that we will not flourish under his guidance... ever since we slumped from 8-3 win/loss to not winning another match for the year... he is a front running coach, he cannot create a team with the iron will to win.... for years now we have not played with passion or tenacity. To me that is unacceptable. The fabric of the club is fraying over these issues, Eddie was quoted as saying we all stand side by side at Collingwood. Have you visited any members site on social media lately? There are only two blokes standing side by side at Collingwood (perhaps three, counting you). If, you are right. I will happily eat my words. Are you willing to do the same? I just hope the cold Pies warm up asap. Wishing you well.
Ian
Guest
Which position are you applying for, Bucks' or Eddie's? By the end of the 2017 season, all you pundits will be eating your words.
mattyb
Guest
McGuire just talks to suit his own agenda. Mick Malthouse won Collingwood a premiership and McGuire had no issues turning on him. The succession plan was just McGuires fancy terms to look after his mate Buckley. Collingwood were actually going excellent as a footy club before Eddie stuck his nose into areas that were not his areas of expertise. Worst decision in football since the Norm Smith debacle and the results have been exactly the same.
Bretto
Guest
No one should take people saying it's time Buckley moved on is a personal attack or slight on the effort he has put in. The vast majority of Collingwood supporters have been supportive and patient as a very young premiership team was dismantled and a consistent slide down the ladder took place. 6 years is way more time than most coaches get. It's plain to see Bucks can't get the best out of the playing group. McGuire can support Bucks all he wants, and he can also leave. It's time for new leadership at Collingwood, both at the president and head coach positions.
Julian Noel
Guest
Planet Earth to Eddie, the future of our club has been in his 'safe' hands for 6 years. Have you noticed how we have tracked over that time?