Ivan Cleary sacked as Panthers coach because he was ‘burned out’

PHIL Gould remains adamant now was the right time for Ivan Cleary to “take a step back, grab a breath of fresh air and get ready for the next part of his career”.

Panthers training

PHIL Gould remains adamant Ivan Cleary was “burned out.” Not surprisingly, Cleary disagrees.

Gould, the Panthers general manager, revealed that Cleary had coached for 12 successive years at the Warriors and lower grades at the Sydney Roosters.

“I am quite sure he is less than halfway through his coaching career,” Gould said.

“Ivan is a very proud and competitive person and, whist he won’t admit that he needs a break at this time, I just felt it was the right time for him to take a step back, grab a breath of fresh air and get ready for the next part of his career. To be honest, I think we burned him out.

“It was my call, I made that call, I will stand by it and I’ll be accountable for it.

“What I was certain about is that it was the right time for the Panthers to have a change in this position. The club needed a new direction and Ivan needed a spell. I think we handled this whole situation with great integrity.”

Phil Gould says Ivan Cleary was ‘burned out’. Pic Brett Costello

Asked what the players thought of Cleary’s dismissal, Gould said: “We have a simple philosophy here, players play, coaches coach, administrators administrate. We don’t do each other’s job.”

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Gould said he wanted new coach Anthony Griffin and did not interview other candidates.

“We did not advertise this position,” Gould said. “We did not seek applications. We did not interview any other candidate.

“Our decision was that Anthony Griffin was the man we wanted to run this organisation. It was a case of us selling ourselves to him.

“In our due diligence, I spoke to a number of people around his previous employers at the Broncos, long-regarded as the benchmark of professional rugby league throughout the world, and his references were nothing short of impeccable. They spoke of his character, his knowledge and love for the game and his work ethic.”

Originally published as Ivan Cleary sacked as Panthers coach because he was ‘burned out’