Then the players’ views become critical as without their support a long-term coach is in trouble.
Apart from the lacklustre effort against the Gold Coast there has been no evidence or suggestion from those inside the club that Buckley didn’t have the locker room.
The next vital step for the Magpies is to establish an understanding of where they are as a club and what it might take to get back to premiership contention.
Loading
That will require an examination of how the club got to where it is, what effect some of the hard decisions have had on the environment and how their execution might affect Buckley and other’s ability to perform their role in the future, essentially, a football department review.