Parramatta Eels Head Coach Brad Arthur spoke to the media on the way out from Eels training today.
Arthur said the side is committed to the Blue and Gold future, saying that there is still hope, with 12 wins from 15 games was on the forefront of his and the players’ minds.
“We are very disappointed, players are disappointed but there is still a bit of hope for us,” Arthur said.
“There is 15 games to go, we need to win 12 of them. There are still some things we need to do between now and next Friday, but that is in the club’s hands. We haven’t given up hope.”
“At the start of the year we wanted to be playing Finals football and nothing has changed."
“We are really committed to trying to do our best to make sure that can still happen after 26 rounds.” Arthur added.
“We have 15 games left, we need to win 12. We have won 68% of games at the moment, we need to win 80% of our games. It’s tough but we are prepared for the fight.”
Arthur confirmed that listening to Todd Greenburg’s press conference had made him sick in the guts, but the Head Coach said there was no doubt amongst the playing group going forward.
They know their future lies in their hands.
“I know today’s news is not great. I don’t think we have had a really easy shot at it over the last month/6 weeks, but the boys have been very resilient.” Arthur said.
“This is another motivating force to work even harder. There will be a lot of doubt about us but there is no doubt amongst this playing group.”
“I was sick in the guts. This playing group has worked so hard all pre-season, trained hard, had a bit of fun at the Auckland Nines and we have had a few tough games.” Arthur added.
“The Bulldogs game was the latest indication of that, because in the second half we had plenty of excuses to roll over and we didn’t.”
“It is really hard to take but it is out of our hands. What is in our hands is what’s ahead of us."
And the Head Coach had a clear message for the Blue and Gold Army, stick by the team and continue to believe and support the players.
“We need them to stick by us,” Arthur said.
“The boys are committed to making sure we can put our best foot forward and come with our best effort every week.”
“We haven’t given up any hope so we really hope they believe in us and support us because we are going to need them.”
