Rees expected to clarify future as poor run hits hard

BACKS supremo Gruff Rees has admitted being weighed down by the abysmal form of the struggling Ospreys and revealed he would address his future before Christmas.

His contract is up at the end of the season and there’s been speculation he could be heading to Cardiff Blues with Matt Sherratt travelling in the other direction.

But Rees wouldn’t be drawn on his plans, emphasising he wanted to concentrate on getting the Ospreys out of a slump which has seen them win just two of their nine fixtures in the Guinness PRO14 to be rooted to the bottom of Conference A.

They were booed off by spectators following a record 47-6 hammering by Glasgow Warriors at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium last Sunday.

“It was a pretty desperate performance and a real low for us. It’s something we have had to front up to, players and coaches alike. We are trying to work our way around it,” confided Rees.

“We have got to strip it back and, at some point, we have got to become a team that’s hard to beat again, as an Ospreys side should be. We were anything but at the weekend.”

Rees admitted it was the darkest period of his five years as head coach Steve Tandy’s right-hand man and the doubts over his future were weighing on his mind.

“It does to a certain degree, you can’t lie. Things are probably catching up with us a little but, again, there’s no excuse for what we’re putting out there, and it is a reflection of what we’re coaching.

“Confidence does chip away, regardless of who you are and the perceived quality of players you have got. It’s too easy for sides to read what we are trying to do. It’s bad mixture.

“What we are trying to coach is not coming through. It’s a low in that respect but also for the players it doesn’t reflect what their perceived ability is so they’ve got to be a part of that low feeling. It’s a collective.

“We’ve got to work our way through for the hardcore fans, to show we can do more from a tactical, technical point of view but also from an effort and a physical point of view.

Asked if he believed the players were still behind him and Tandy, Rees replied: “Yes, I genuinely think so in terms of the way we are reviewing. We are holding players to account and they’re holding us to account.”

On his future, he said: “I’ll clarify that over the next couple of weeks or so. Genuinely, I’ve been immersed 100% on trying to work our way through this. The people above me, the supporters, the players deserve nothing less.”