“I’m not bitter, I’m grateful to the club for the opportunities that have been given to me.”
Brad Arthur, the Parramatta Eels coach until Monday afternoon, has broken his silence on being sacked by the club.
Speaking for the first time since his sacking, Arthur revealed that he is grateful for his 11-year stint at Parramatta and still wants to achieve more in rugby league.
On Monday afternoon, the Eels confirmed Arthur had been terminated from his role as head coach, with assistant coach Trent Barrett taking over the coaching reigns in an interim role.
“I’m not bitter, I’m grateful to the club for the opportunities that have been given to me,” Arthur said via The Sydney Morning Herald and News Corp.
“In 11 years, I’ve been able to look after my family, made lots of great friendships, learnt so much about rugby league, learned a lot about managing people and expectations and most importantly got to experience the excitement of an NRL grand final week and game without getting the desired result.
“I understand it’s a results-driven business and our performances weren’t where they needed to be recently.
“I’m extremely grateful to the playing group for the respect they’ve shown me and my family and I wish them all the best for the rest of the year and I know they can turn it around.”
In his first statement since leaving the Eels, Arthur praised the club’s skipper, Clinton Gutherson, and admitted he wants to return to the NRL.
Moved on by the club, this is the first time he will be out of a job since 2012 when he took over the Eels in an interim role. Failing to make the NRL finals last season, his greatest highlight was guiding the club to the 2022 NRL Grand Final.
“I’ve loved having the privilege of shaping young family’s lives,” he added.
“It’s really satisfying that as a club we’ve been able to help some players reach representative honours.
“Thank you to the many people who’ve reached out to me to show their support. I’m overwhelmed with everyone in the playing group reaching out to thank me.
“After a short break I look forward to new opportunities and challenges.
“I feel I still have plenty to give. I know I’ve made mistakes but I feel like I’ve got a few things right too.
“I don’t want to single any players out but it would be unfair to not thank Clint Gutherson for the years of torture he put his body through for me.”