Essendon chairman David Barham says the Bombers make no apologies for their botched bid for Alastair Clarkson which has shattered Ben Rutten and left the club in damage control.
Barham said the Bombers should have been clearer with Rutten on Monday about the Clarkson mission which went belly up when he chose North Melbourne on Friday.
Barham said the club was unsure what kind of new coach the club needed but left the door open for Rutten to continue, pending more crisis talks at a board meeting on Sunday.
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The drama will intensify the heat on the board with sections of the fan base and football industry appalled by the way the Bombers have treated Rutten.
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There will also be key talks on the future of chief executive Xavier Campbell who has two years remaining on his deal.
Barham said he was unsure if club legend James Hird was keen to coach again, adamant no one had spoken to him.
Asked what kind of coach the club needed after 18 years without a finals win, Barham said “We will decide that on Sunday”.
Barham said the club could have acted sooner on Clarkson after a 2-10 start to the season destroyed its finals hopes by mid-year.
“Definitely we could have done it earlier but the board has got to decide that that is what it wants to do and it didn’t at that stage,” Barham said.
On Rutten, Barham said the club had to act on the senior coach after a lacklustre season.
He acknowledged it had been difficult time for Rutten and a mistake not to be more open with him earlier in the week.
“It (pursuing Clarkson) certainly hurt him
and it hasn’t helped (relations),” Barham said.
“And I’m not happy about that but at the same time if I’m the president of Essendon and the best coach of the past 20 years has expressed an interest to come to Essendon and I don’t go and see him what will the members and fans think of me?”
In regards to Hird, Barham played down the chances of an approach.
“I’m not sure what Hirdy has got to do with it. No one has spoken to Hirdy,” Barham said.
“Is it tough on Ben? Yep for sure, but that is the kind of thing we have to do and I have to do for this club to improve and get better and go forward,” Barham said.
“Make hard decisions so we can improve.
“That’s what I did and it has been uncomfortable for a lot of people.”
AFL: Tension arose in the Essendon press conference as reporters questioned whether a new coach would be confident in joining the club.
Rutten blindsided by Dons’ Clarko attempt
Essendon coach Ben Rutten will speak with family about his next step after he was blindsided by the Bombers’ unsuccessful attempt to land Alastair Clarkson.
The embarrassed Bombers are in crisis talks after Clarkson picked North Melbourne despite the 11th-hour bid from Essendon.
Rutten is contracted for one more season, but could step away after being publicly undermined by his own club.
He plans to speak with family about his treatment and his next move after he leads Essendon into battle against Richmond on Saturday night at the MCG.
The former Adelaide full-back is expected to have a suite of options at other clubs as a senior assistant, if he wants to move to a new club.
Essendon’s handling of Rutten this week has been widely condemned, leaving the club in a disastrous position without Clarkson or a well-considered plan B.
Pressure will come on the board to stand down following the botched Clarkson mission.
New president David Barham swept to power on Monday on the back of a call to begin an external review.
That will have to be launched as the club looks to break its 18-year stretch without a finals win.
Chief executive Xavier Campbell wanted to stand by Rutten and has two years remaining on his contract at Tullamarine.
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