Crusaders coach Rob Penney has had to defend his ongoing role with the Super Rugby Pacific champions, as their playoff hopes fade away at the tailend of their season.
Realistically, the Christchurch franchise always faced a rebuilding phase, with the departure of Scott Robertson to the All Blacks coaching job, and the loss of senior players to retirement or offshore contracts.
A succession of injuries to those remaining has certainly not helped, but a paltry two victories from 12 games was probably beyond anyone's comprehension.
Penney has handled the increasing pressure admirably so far, but with the post-season now looking unlikely and a game against tabletopping Blues looming, he has been called on to answer some hard questions about his future at a testy media conference.
What would he do differently to win games?
"Probably win those critical moments when we're just not able to get across the line," he offered. "We've been close a number of times and there have been moments when, for one reason or another, we haven't won the pressure points to get ourselves in front or have consistency."
Do you expect to be in this role next year?
"Absolutely."
Would you consider stepping aside?
"No."
If not, would you consider taking a director of rugby role?
"Don't know why that would be mooted."
How hard is it to pick yourselves up for a do-or-die match against the Blues on Saturday?
"Not at all, we're very excited. Not long after the completion of the Brumbies, we'd already started to move on to the Blues were invigorated by the prospect."
As coach, do you take any responsibility for the losses you've seen this year?
"Of course."
Where does the blame lie? Does it lie with the players? Does it lie with you?
"If you're looking to apportion blame, I'll leave that to others, but all I know is everyone in the organisation is working really hard to get the outcomes we're deserving and we'd love to see."
Penney, 60, brought an extensive coaching resume to the job, guiding Canterbury to four NPC titles and the NZ U20 team to a world championship final. He also had stints with Munster in Ireland, Japan's Shining Arcs and NSW Waratahs.
With two weeks remaining in the Super Rugby Pacific season, the Crusaders sit in 10th, six points outside the top-eight playoff cut.
To reach the quarter-finals, they must win at least one of their remaining games - but probably both - against the Blues and Moana Pasifika, and hope the teams around them lose out.
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