Collingwood President Eddie McGuire has launched a passionate defence of under siege coach Nathan Buckley and delivered an emotional speech following the Pies' loss to Essendon in the ANZAC Day clash.
Speaking on his morning radio program, The Hot Breakfast, McGuire said "there is no better person" than Buckley to lead the Magpies out of the 1-4 start to the season.
Speculation has mounted that Buckley may not see out the season as Collingwood coach following yet another loss, which has seen his side slip to 13th on the ladder after the opening five rounds.
But McGuire said he is 100 per cent behind his man, who took over from Mick Malthouse in 2012, following a grand final appearance.
“Every time I’ve looked for Nathan Buckley as a player, as a person, as a coach — he has never let me or the Collingwood Football Club down. Anytime he has been required to step to the line, he steps, and he steps forward before you even ask him too,” McGuire said on Triple M.
“There has been no greater servant of the Collingwood Football Club. There is no better person to have our club’s future in his hands than Nathan Buckley. He will do whatever is required to the best of his ability.
“Now the results will come and the results will be decided upon and action will be taken because no person, whether it’s the president or the coach or a player or anybody, is bigger than the club.”
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McGuire went on to guarantee fans the club will fight tooth and nail to bring its season back from the brink.
"Yeah, they’re all rounding on us at the moment, yeah they are. We are the scum of football at the moment as we were 125 years ago when we were the scum of Victoria in the depths of the Great Depression — and we stood side-by-side. That’s what I expect from our players and our supporters — and we will rally together," McGuire said.
"Whether we get the results, time will tell. But I tell you what we won’t do: We’ll never give up, we’ll never dog it, we won’t turn on our own, we won’t decimate people who give to the club day-in, day-out and over 10s of years. We don’t turn on our people, we stand side-by-side.
"We don’t get spooked by headlines, we’ don’t get spooked by people who celebrate one day, dance on your grave the next. We know what it’s all about. This is a club that has endured for 125 years, not because we flip flop in the wind when it gets tough.
"So we will get stuck into it. We’ll see Geelong on Sunday, MCG, Sunday afternoon — we’ll be right to go and our players will give it our best shot. Geelong are a great club, they might beat us but I tell you what — it will be the spirit of Collingwood that will be tested on Sunday afternoon. I hope like hell that we get up and win.
"It was devastating (on Tuesday), but you know what? We played a good team and we played a great club. We got done and we did it in an honourable way.
"You either stand up or get out. And our time is to stand up now because we owe our supporters. You know what? We really do."
