Former Essendon coach John Worsfold's successor Ben Scott has spoken about the club's handling of his sacking and the decision to let go of Zach Merrett
, even though he was abundantly aware of the escalating pressure. Scott also told Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters that he had been disappointed by the constant leaking from within the club that put him in an “untenable position” to speak to his players after the decision was made to move him on.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app:“It was surprising , but in a way, I’ve been in this industry for a long time, it’s not surprising because pressure does strange things,” Scott told The Agenda Setters. Scott was then put on the spot when asked how did the media know more about his fate and tenuous position than him. AFL expert Kane Cornes asked: “Are you disappointed with the leaks from the club?
” “Oh, well ... the disappointment ... I sort of unfortunately have come to expect it a little bit. It’s been a challenge at Essendon over the journey,” Scott told The Agenda Setters.
“But the frustrating thing about this was that, I spoke to last night. We were going to catch up at 7.30 this morning. We were going to hold it tight.
“There are only eight people who knew, plus the media manager. And then I’d get the opportunity to speak to the players ... but at 7.30 in the morning the players already knew, because everyone knew.
“So it meant it made it untenable to go to the club and speak to the players, so that’ll have to come a bit later. ” Scott also revealed that it was his belief that Essendon should have let Zach Merrett go when the former captain requested a trade to Hawthorn last year. Pressed on if he agreed with the call, Scott was blunt.
“No ... my view was that Zach had given incredible service to the Essendon football club. He’d been through multiple strategies, multiple coaches, been made promises on multiple occasions,” Scott told The Agenda Setters.
“You know, my view is always you invest in the team and you put the team first. And Zach found that really hard to do at the end of last year. And I felt for him and I felt for his family. ”: “No, I didn’t think he was being selfish.
I thought he had been promised things over and over again. He was at his wits end and he couldn’t invest in the team anymore. Now, he certainly does through his actions on field. But, you know, my view was that we should let him go.
“But the club’s view was that we should keep him. So again, my view is what the club’s view is. And I fronted that. ”
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