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Parish's strained Salford Reds reign always destined for a Matt finish

Matt Parish sensationally quit as Salford Reds coach and stormed home to Australia, saying his role had become untenable.

Parish’s direct confrontational style upset and angered club bosses during his brief six-month reign.

Chairman John Wilkinson had hardly spoken to Parish on his return from Down Under earlier this month.

Relations with football director Steve Simms had also become strained forcing Parish to confront chief executive Dave Tarry and hand in his resignation.

On Thursday Parish was going through customs at Manchester Airport at the same time Salford bosses were issuing a statement explaining his decision for quitting after just six games in charge.

Parish states ‘personal reasons’ for resigning and told MEN Sport: “I’m done and I’m absolutely gutted. There are only about 30 coaching jobs in the world and I’ve just walked away from one. I am disappointed, my new assistant Sean Long is pretty filthy about it - I am leaving behind a really good bunch of players who I greatly enjoyed working with, along with a first-class support staff.

“I am going home with no job to go to. For the last five or six months I’ve been totally committed to Salford. I’ve been linked with Manly back home in Australia but I’ve not had any contact with them. I’d love to come back to England - I love Manchester.”

Parish did not have the chance to meet his players in person to explain his reason for resigning. He telephoned them before being hurriedly whisked off to the airport.

Also during his reign, he was severely critical of club policy, notably recruitment, lack of funds and even questioned Salford’s ambitions within Super League.

He really angered club officials with one late night text message following a crushing defeat against Wigan for the club’s junior team.

While in Australia, Parish claims he was assured Salford had a rich crop of talented youngsters ready to step up to Super League. He disputed this and reiterated it in his text.

Parish picked up only one win against Huddersfield.

Immediately after the game he insisted the dressing room door was locked on the inside thus preventing chairman John Wilkinson, vice chairman Howard Clague and Steve Simms from joining players in the dressing room.

Wilkinson was said to be furious. That could have been the final straw yet fans were right behind Parish and warmed to his street fighter style.

Parish even told reporters he was becoming frustrated at having, as he saw it, to  regularly clean up other people’s mess.

He was offered a two-year contract but whether he actually put pen to paper is debatable.

Parish’s volatility wasn’t only reserved for club officials. He was considering stripping Daniel Holdsworth of the captaincy and blasted Feka Paleaaesina for his weight.

Luke Adamson and Adam Sidlow were told to find other clubs and Mark Sneyd was regularly pummelled in training.

Parish wanted to unload Paleaaesina to Wakefield and  use the money to lure Adrian Morley from Warrington as captain but no-one supported him.

A club statement said: “Matt leaves the club in a much stronger position and with what the club believes to be one of the most innovative coaching set-ups in Super League.

“The club would like to thank Matt for his efforts and we wish him well in his future career.

“Matt would like us to pass on his thanks to the Reds fans for their fantastic support.”.

Parish had remained totally committed to the cause yet only this week dismay was expressed by the fact Reds had been back in pre-season training for a month and had still not been given an official training kit.

They were taking their kit home for washing - on Thursday, Parish was packing his bags for the final time and heading home with a bitter taste in his mouth.

What do you think? Have your say.

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It really is time for a clearout at Boardroom level,the likes cof Simms and Tarry have been on easy street for years, the club obviously require financial investment in which to back the new coach who should be Brian Noble

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right, lets get brian noble in, just like 95% of the fans wanted last time.
good point from blue for life though, there needs to be a huge shake up in that board room. matt parish was a top coach who spoke his mind and thats what was needed. we were saying on the terraces when mcrae was in charge of the problems on the field and he would come out in interviews and just give excuses time and time again. at least parish had the balls to tell us the state of the club. tarry and simms out, noble in.

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NO TRAINING KIT FOR PRE-SEASON TRAINING ...TRUE..........BUT THE PLAYERS DID RECEIVE IT EVENTUALLY YESTERDAY...THE DAY MATT PARISH LEFT FOR QZ !!

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It’s no wonder fans jump on the 'Get rid of the board bandwaggon' when we read things like this.

Can you seriously imagine reading things like this about any other club?

The club statement was swift and to the point but never touched on the answers that the fans deserve to hear. But "There will be no further comment on this issue. Announcements regarding the coaching staff will be made in due course." leaves themselves wide open for the abuse they receive. Not very reassuring is it.

Reading the above from Neil Barker only fuels the fire of the fans.

I have my doubts about Phil Veivers taking over. If he wasn't good enough for the full time job 6 months ago why is he OK now?

I like the sound of Noble I think he tough enough for the job to sure up the team a bit more. My question would be like Veivers, why not last time. Is he hungry enough for the monumental challenge ahead?

I can't help but think that the problems are bigger than what we are reading. Hope I am wrong.

Guess we'll have to just wait for the Salford board to tell us.

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Parish is a self confessed Genius whose Salford track record was 1:6 (where have I heard that before). No loss to Salford at all.

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Bring back Karl Harrison please

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Well Matt Parish has gone and I'm sad for him, but not sad for the club, because his behaviour suggests that this is a man out of his depth and too stressed to add any real value. To bully and abuse others, send abusive texts to superiors and lock the Chairman out of the office would get any employee fired in most businesses! And Parish committed the greatest sin of all, he walked away from the job, rather than facing up to a situation that wasn't to his liking and battling on...................that is unforgivable.
I only hope that Salford and Parish learn by the experience, but if I was the owner of a NRL club, I'd think twice about employing Parish as head coach.

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Parish wanted to unload Paleaaesina to Wakefield and use the money to lure Adrian Morley from Warrington.

That would have been a superb move! Morley as Salford Captain. Yes please..

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I will support the Reds forever, however someone now has to show leadership and match the rhetoric around ambition.

Mr Wilko you are loyal, committed and Salford through and through, however the injection of funds required to compete at the top level will not come from the current structure and delusions of gradaneur in and around the Mecca of a new ground.

Serious money, serious commitment and professinalism are required. Mr W, find a partner/investor/corporate or we will forever be the side that competes with Wakefield for existance year in year out.

PS Not convinced Mr Simms will ever do anything other than cultivate the mediocre.

Ozzy Red

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I can understand him locking them out of the dressing sheds, directors swaggering around with grins from ear to ear like they've achieved something and then em-parting their limited knowledge on exhausted players is not what you need. The ideas we are led to believe he had seem reasonable,
Parish did not have the chance to meet his players in person to explain his reason for resigning. He telephoned them before being hurriedly whisked off to the airport. Pretty ordinary and not what you'd expect from a quality coach.
Why don't they just give Sean Long the job and say get on with it. If he doesn't know the bloody game its time to wrap up. But your still left with a boardroom and backroom full of dead wood,

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clubs in chaos great advertisement for salford (not)

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Seriously worried now with Parish going and all those blue seats being put in our new ground! What is going on at Salford?
Why can't the club be straight with it's loyal supporters? If Sale are ground sharing with us, please be open and honest with the fans and tell us! I'm dreading that we'll hear that Sale are sharing the ground, and then carve it up in their favour like they did at Stockport!
It was only last week the newspapers were reporting that Salford had the brighest coaching team in Super League! In who's opinion? Steve Simms?

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The worst thing, yes even worse than Perished going going gone, is the total silence about what happens now. To expect honesty or transparency is nothing compared with how the situation is rectified! Neither, the board nor Perisher are blameless but the need for a coach and a good one is essential in the pre-season preparations that need to be done NOW and the quiet from all involved is deafening!

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