New Essendon president David Barham concedes mistakes were made as the Bombers left embattled coach Ben Rutten in the dark during their botched pursuit of Alastair Clarkson.
Barham — who replaced Paul Brasher as Bombers president on Monday — described the situation as "really horrible".
"I should have called [Rutten on] Monday, and I apologise for that," Barham told reporters in Melbourne."Players are disappointed they weren't more consulted and, again, I have to live with that."Barham would not be drawn on speculation that Bombers hierarchy are floating the idea of James Hird returning as coach, seven years after the Bombers great left amid the fallout of Essendon's supplements saga.
"It's fair to say Monday and half of Tuesday were pretty difficult days because no one was telling [Rutten] what was going on," Ramanauskas told RSN radio.On Thursday, Clarkson expressed embarrassment and regret about how his move back into AFL coaching had played out. "With the situation around 'Truck' [Rutten], he's still got a year of his contract to run, and it's quite embarrassing being the centre of attention in a situation that is just so difficult for both him and his club," Clarkson told Ten News.