Former Western Bulldogs Coach Brendan McCartney Opens Up On His Sacking

"I know in my heart..."


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Former Western Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney has said the club's decision to sack him at the end of 2014 has "proven to be correct".

McCartney spoke to the Herald Sun on Saturday, and said he had "a sense of pride" in what the Bulldogs had achieved, ultimately commending them for going further under his replacement Luke Beveridge.

"They won a flag the hardest way possible with just incredible commitment to one another and intensity and it seemed to fuel enormous self belief within them," McCartney said.

“So, I have nothing but absolute respect for what Luke has done, because clearly he is an outstanding football person and manager of men.

“Yes, there is a sense of pride in that for me, but the club made some decisions and whether you agreed with them or not, they have been proven to be correct.

“I know in my heart that so much was done right (in 2012-14), but I got some things wrong at the end of it, and that’s not other people — I got some things wrong.

“So you’ve got to be man enough to look yourself in the eye and own those mistakes and get to work and that is what I spent the past couple of years doing.”

McCartney has said the new job at Melbourne, where he works with Melbourne's young midfielders as their development and strategy coach, has re-energised him.

“The two years I have had at Melbourne have been fun," he said.

"They have been reassuring, reaffirming, and what they have done has reminded me of what I can do when I coach, and the impact that I can have as a person. I didn’t feel like that when I left the Dogs.

“I feel like I am valued at Melbourne and there is a big box of knowledge there that I can use to help and people can take whatever they like out of it.

“At 56, I have a love and passion for coaching. It has been tested, but it is stronger than ever.”

18 March 2017




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