Tanking scapegoat Chris Connolly in for long haul at Dees

EXCLUSIVE: MELBOURNE'S tanking scapegoat Chris Connolly has been given a two-year contract extension.

Chris Connolly

EXCLUSIVE: MELBOURNE'S tanking scapegoat Chris Connolly has been given a two-year contract extension.

Connolly yesterday broke his silence on the controversial issue, saying he was determined to help rebuild the club.

He was suspended for 12 months after being found guilty of making comments in a football department meeting regarding the resting of players and playing them out of position.

The former football manager said yesterday he accepted the AFL's penalty because the club could not allow the tanking dramas to drag into this season.

He will not be paid this year but has been re-contracted, in a non-football role, for 2014 and 2015.

"I am back on February 1," he said.

"I think the club collectively made a decision in the best interests of the Melbourne Football Club.

"Imagine if it had been hanging over our heads with this current (pressure) going on.

"The dark clouds had to be shifted and while the club is still under pressure at the moment, it was a collective decision made to accept the fines and penalty and move on.

"I am still employed by the club, I am a life member of the club, and it's a really tough time at Melbourne and I feel for people at the club. They are now actively working to continue to improve things on and off the field."

Connolly's suspension means he cannot perform any duties at Melbourne.

New chief executive Peter Jackson is conducting an intensive review of the club, but Connolly's position is guaranteed.

The former football manager has moved to a fundraising position, which includes the Foundation Heroes debt demolition program that has cleared $5 million.

The Demons considered taking the AFL to the Supreme Court over the tanking issue. But in a deal negotiated by AFL and Melbourne lawyers, the club was fined $500,000 but not found guilty of tanking.

Connolly and former coach Dean Bailey were suspended.

Connolly, who has just returned from South-East Asia, will spent seven weeks in Europe with his wife, Penny, and a month in America later in the year.

He plans to travel to Phuket as part of the 10-year anniversary of the Asian tsunami with Trish Broadbridge and the Reach Foundation.

"I am doing a lot of personal development stuff, I am staying active in footy with RecLink (charity), I am doing some assistant coaching at Yarra Grammar School, and I just got back from Vietnam and Thailand for a fundraiser with the Vietnam Swans over Anzac Day," he said.

"It's hard not being around the club to support everyone in a really tough time.

"Everyone in the club is feeling the pinch because it's a tough industry. We are doing it really hard and hopefully the wheel can turn this weekend."