Biggar coach Ants Posa believes he was unfairly forced out

Apr 7 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

BIGGAR coach Ants Posa says he was left “puzzled, bewildered and frustrated” after being effectively sacked, despite keeping the club in Premier 2.

New Zealand-born Posa says the decision was made by the Hartreemill club because they wanted “change for change’s sake” but insists he harbours no ill-will towards them.

In fact, he’s currently weighing up whether or not to stay on as Biggar’s development officer.

Posa said: “Basically I was coming to the end of my three-year contract and whilst I was thinking about whether or not I was going to stay on the decision was taken out of my hands.

“The reason given is that they need a change – even my worst critic has complemented me on my professionalism and expertise, if you like, but the club decided that the players are sick of my voice.

“I’m the only coach in Premier 2 who is operating solo, so maybe if I had some assistant coaches that would have made a difference, but who knows.

“They said they wanted to freshen things up and the decision was taken out of my hands.

“I’m puzzled, bewildered and frustrated by it all. The director of rugby at Biggar has spoken highly of me and stated that he wanted to keep me on, but was outvoted by the committee.

“He has said it’s change for change’s sake.

“I was put in a position where I needed to fight for the job and I’m not prepared to do that – I think I’ve done too good a job at Biggar and I have too much pride.

“I could argue about my record here but I don’t want to. Whether or not I was coach next season should have been my choice.”

Posa says he’s unsure whether or not to stay on as development officer at Biggar, and said: “There’s no ill-feeling towards the club, I’m proud of the time I’ve had here and what will be will be. If you said to me at the start of my three seasons that I would have done as well in the job I would have bitten your hand off.

“What I’m proudest of is the amount of kids who have come through here because it’s almost unbelievable – that is a unanimous feeling within the club and probably the reason they want to keep me on as development officer.

“But my passion is for coaching and I have to weigh up what is best for myself and my family, and not rush into anything.

“I’ll think about my future over the next month or six weeks.”