Buckley builds for Pies’ future
NATHAN Buckley remains heavily involved in Collingwood’s list-management strategy looking into the future, despite not being guaranteed a job beyond the end of this season.
Buckley revealed yesterday he was content to wait until the Magpies’ season ends before the club either decided to reappoint him for another year, or sacked him after six seasons as senior coach.
“I am proud of the club; I love the club,” he said before Saturday’s clash with Essendon. “I take my chair [at listmanagement discussions] and my responsibility with the role.
“I would like to think that the club, and the leadership within it, is confident of my ability to look beyond just this season in my thought processes. I want the best for the footy club . . . and from a listmanagement perspective, I will continue to give my opinion.
“My major charter is to continue to look forward as much as I’m looking to Saturday, to be able to put the club in as strong a position as I possibly can.”
The Magpies sit precariously in 15th position after five wins and nine losses, with debate raging over whether Buckley is the right man to lead the club into the future.
But, despite endorsements from Kevin Bartlett and Nick Dal Santo yesterday, the Mag- pies coach said he did not expect a decision on his future any time soon.
“The reality is that I am more than happy to let the season play out,” Buckley said.
“I think the time for senior leadership discussions is generally in the off-season and that’s when they will take place.”
He conceded Ben Reid was disappointed at being dropped last week, but said the key position swingman understood the reasoning surrounding his demotion to the VFL.
“It is a fact we have only won one of the eight games ‘Reidy’ has played [this year], but there is a bit more to that than Reidy’s presence,” he said. “The job of every player is to be impatient. Reidy has acted appropriately in an attitude sense.”
Reid could return this week, and Darcy Moore’s scans were clear, but his hamstring tightness means he remains doubtful and must prove his fitness tomorrow.