Warriors managing director Jim Doyle has again thrown his support behind besieged NRL coach Andrew McFadden and denied the club is speaking to other contenders about replacing him mid-season.
Talk has intensified following the seven tries to none Anzac Day 42-0 defeat to Melbourne that McFadden is on borrowed time as coach, having had just three wins in the last 16 games, with former Warriors coach Ivan Cleary and ex-Manly coach Geoff Toovey rumoured to be in the mix to replace him.
But Doyle, as he has done repeatedly this season, insists McFadden has the backing and trust of himself and club owner Eric Watson, and remains the man entrusted to bring about improvement at the club.
"There's no truth to any of that stuff," said Doyle when asked if the club were considering other options.
"We haven't been speaking to Ivan or Geoff and we've said all along, our job, Eric's and mine, particularly, is to get this club to be successful.
"We want Cappy [McFadden] to be the coach who does that. We try and support him in every single way we can, but the ultimate goal is we want the club to be successful.
"So we're doing everything we can to make that happen."
Doyle is fuming over the passive nature of the Warriors' latest loss and the inability of the players to string together consistent performances.
The hard work being put in by management, with McFadden and his assistant coaches, was being undermined by a playing group that has been told it is not up to standard.
"It's the way that we lost that makes us all feel embarrassed," he said. "You look at their performance against the Bulldogs, who are a good team, the boys played well and stood up for each other. It had all the attributes that we all want.
"Off the field we're working 16, 17, 18 hours every day to make things better and the players just didn't pitch up. It's extremely disappointing."
Doyle could not understand why personal pride and a determination to perform better for those close to them, the club and team was not more evident from every Warriors player.
"The players have all got families, mums and dads, and sisters and brothers and extended family, who are going to work or school every day and no doubt embarrassed.
"You cannot tell me there's not one of those mums and dads who went to work on Tuesday morning was not embarrassed by how their son performed, or how the team their son plays for performed.
"And that's what surprises me - how can they not get up on a consistent basis to play the best they can for the club, or their family or for personal pride? That's the most frustrating part."
Despite their three-and-five win-loss record, Doyle is confident they have the talent to make the top eight.
But he says the biggest challenge for the club is to reduce the gulf between the side's thrilling best and diabolical worst.
"Our No 1 priority is to get those poor performances to a higher standard so that the difference between our best and our worst is not anywhere near what it is at the moment," Doyle said.
