30 Jun 2011

Cleary signing closes door on Gould return

2:06 pm on 30 June 2011

Penrith League club's general manager Phil Gould admits the door has finally closed on him ever coaching again after signing the Warriors long-serving coach Ivan Cleary to oversee his Panthers revolution.

It was confirmed yesterday that Cleary, who played under Gould at the Sydney Roosters in the 1990s, would be released from the final year of his contract with the Warriors to take up a two-year deal with the Panthers starting next season.

Gould said yesterday he'd been thinking very seriously of taking up coaching again for the first time since 2004, but he'd have been right out of his comfort zone with what's required at Penrith.

Gould was so keen to sign Cleary he was prepared to wait until his deal with the Warriors had expired in 2013 to secure his services.