Dean Pay’s contract extension takes pressure off battling Bulldogs

Fresh from signing a 12-month contract extension, Bulldogs coach Dean Pay walked into training at Belmore on Saturday to be greeted by the handshakes of his relieved players.

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Bulldogs coach Dean Pay walked into training at Belmore on Saturday to be greeted by the handshakes of his players.

Fresh from extending his future with the club for 12 months on Friday, Pay was also able to coach for the first time in months without an axe hovering over his head.

The 49-year-old has felt the pressure following a winless start to the season — with many surprised at the Canterbury board’s swift decision to re-sign Pay.

However, Pay told The Sunday Telegraph his new deal had eliminated the tension surrounding his future from the playing group ahead of Sunday’s important clash with the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown.

Pay can feel the relief after his future was sorted. Image: AAP Image/Dean Lewins

“It just gives you reassurance,’’ Pay said of the contract which takes him until 2020.

“It takes the edge off a little bit of uncertainty and it takes a little bit of tension in the place.

“I felt it today with the boys as well.

“The tension was out of them — I felt it straight away. Almost all of them shook my hand.

“We trained really well and hopefully they’ll play with a little bit of freedom (against the Tigers).

“They want to do well, just as much as I do. They’ve worked really hard and they’re proud kids too. They don’t want to be where we are at the moment.’’

The Dogs know things won’t get better overnight. Image: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Yet typical of the no-nonsense forward who played 108 games for the Bulldogs, Pay refused to sugar-coat a bitter pill.

The club’s salary cap space remains dire after the decision by the previous management regime to pay inflated figures for players. They are also paying players who are no longer at the club, including Tigers captain Moses Mbye who’ll face the Dogs on Sunday.

Significant space in the Dogs salary cap remains a long way off.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that the Bulldogs have eight roster positions available at the end of this season worth around $250,000 for each spot.

Supporting young talent like Nick Meaney has become crucial. Image: John Ford

Pay wasn’t interested in crunching numbers, but confirmed the club’s stringent cap would continue to have an impact on his roster.

“I’m really excited to get another 12 months,’’ Pay said.

“It gives me more time to mould the squad that we think will take us forward.

“We’ve still got cap pressure and we’re still in that situation of spending wisely in the positions we believe are necessary to replenish, but we’re working as hard as we can with the squad we’ve got.

“I’m not blaming anyone — that’s just what it is.

“What we are is what we are and we’ve got to do our best with what we’re doing.

“But people need to understand we’re not playing on an even playing field with everybody else.

“Our squad is working its hardest as it possibly can. And we want to strengthen our roster each and every year.

“We want to build a roster that is going got compete for the premiership. But what we’ve got is, restrictions on that because of our cap.

“That’s the reality of it.’’

Pay has made five changes to his side that were beaten by Parramatta last week, including the selection of debutants Nick Meaney at fullback and local junior Jayden Okunbur on the wing.

“Over the next period, while we’re in this situation, we’ve just got to make sure we’re putting time into guys like Nick Meaney and Lachlan Lewis, so that by the time they’ve got to 50 games we can then put some marquee players around them,’’ Pay said.