Melton South has sacked co-coach Ash Manning after just six games.
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The winless Panthers sit second-last on the Ballarat Football League ladder and Manning’s marching orders come three days after Melton South’s 66-point loss to Darley on the weekend.
A frustrated Manning told The Courier he felt harshly done by and was disappointed to have not been given an opportunity to coach out the season.
Manning said he and the club shared differing views when it came to assessing the playing list. While he added a combination of injury, unavailability and players not performing to their best coupled with a lack of support from joint coach and star player Brendan Fevola were key factors to the position Melton South finds itself in.
“Am I disappointed? Bloody oath I am. I’ve been working my absolute backside off,” Manning said.
“I’m not blaming anyone, but in my opinion I’ve worked my backside off to try and make the club better.
“I tried to do my best and it obviously wasn’t good enough, that’s how it is.
“I think the club had to go backwards in some respects before it could go forward, we had to get a lot of things right that the club had wrong.
“I think the list isn’t as good as the club thinks it is...the players they’ve recruited haven’t performed as well as expected, some guys have carried injuries, lack of availability.”
Manning, who played in Melton South’s only premiership in 1994, has been among the senior coaching ranks for 12 years, coaching Glenroy to a flag and Tullamarine to two grand finals.
Melton South acting president Matt Collins, who is standing in for the overseas Brendan Morrissey, said the club felt Manning just wasn’t the right fit for the club at the present time.
Collins said it was extremely tough to tell Manning, a close friend of Collins, but the board believes the decision is in the best interests of the club.
“In the end, we weren’t happy with where things were going,” Collins said.
“We just felt he wasn’t the right fit for the club at the time.
“He’s a good person, I, and the club, wish him all the best.”