Shane Flanagan has addressed rumours that the Wests Tigers have approached him to replace Michael Maguire as head coach next season.
Premiership-winning coach Shane Flanagan denies he is in talks to replace Michael Maguire as the head coach of the Wests Tigers.
Pressure mounted on Maguire throughout another disappointing season for the joint venture. It reached boiling point after the Tigers’ hefty loss to the cellar-dwelling Bulldogs in the final round of the season.
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The likes of Paul Green, Cameron Ciraldo, Kristian Woolf and Flanagan could all be in the frame for the head coaching gig at Concord should the Tigers part company with Maguire.
However, Flanagan said that if the Tigers had begun considering Maguire’s replacement, he hadn’t been notified.
“There’s no position available. That’s the way I look at it and my management look at it,” Flanagan said on Fox League on Sunday.
“Michael Maguire is the coach. It’s been a tough year for the Tigers. I just let those things go by. It’s rugby league and the rumour mill at its best.”
However, Flanagan said he would be grab a head coaching role with both hands if he was offered one.
“I’m interested in as head coaching role. That’s what I do,” the former Sharks boss said.
“I was lucky enough to win a comp with the Sharks. I’ve got the bug, I want to do it, I think I do it well but the Wests Tigers are off the cards.
“If something comes up in the future at any club and I was lucky enough to get to that job, I’d look at it as a privilege.”
Leading into the final month of the regular season, the Tigers had still been a chance to make the finals series for the first time since 2011.
However, when the side lost its last three games by an average margin of 27 points, pundits were left to question whether Maguire had lost the dressing room.
After their 38-0 loss to the wooden-spooners in the final round, Maguire affirmed his desire to see out his contract with the Tigers.
“I know exactly where the team is going, and the organisation knows where the team is going,” he said.
“We’ve got to make sure that we continue to be disciplined about what we’re trying to build here.
“Changing teams and changing pathways of clubs takes a little bit of time.
“It doesn’t mean that you can’t get better performances on the park, I’ll acknowledge that, but it’s about continually sticking to the path of where we’re going with this group.”
Regardless of who is steering the ship, the Tigers will hope the additions of Jackson Hastings and Oliver Gildart to the roster can help turn things around next year.
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