News
No guarantees for Loffreda
May 27 2008
Leicester director of rugby Marcelo Loffreda is not guaranteed to keep his job even if the Tigers retain the Guinness Premiership title on Saturday.
Loffreda, who has only been in charge at Welford Road for seven months, will have his position reviewed once the season is over.
The former Argentina coach has been under growing pressure in recent months as Leicester came perilously close to missing out on both the Premiership play-offs and Heineken Cup qualification.
Against the odds, the Tigers did manage to secure a return to Twickenham with dramatic late victories over Harlequins and then at Gloucester.
But Loffreda's future remains in doubt after a difficult first season at Welford Road, plagued by inconsistent results on the field and whispers of divisions within the camp off it.
Leicester chief executive Peter Wheeler refused to confirm Loffreda will still be in charge of the club next season.
"It has been a difficult season and it has been extremely difficult for him (Loffreda)," said Wheeler.
"He has a contract in place for the next two years. We will have a review of the coaching staff, as we do every year. The whole set-up will be reviewed.
"What I have said all along is that we have to be sure that we have the right people in place to do the job.
"The result on Saturday will have some relevance. We just have to be sure the whole structure is right and that we are on the right track."
"Life is much more difficult these days," Wheeler added when the comparison with Avram Grant's exit as Chelsea manager only three days after the Champions League Final was made.
Loffreda did not arrive at Leicester until after the World Cup, where he guided Argentina to an unprecedented third place, with the Premiership season already well under way.
He has had to strike a balance between producing the results demanded of him while also trying to settle his family into a new country and build a new regime.
Some may argue reaching the EDF Energy Cup final and Guinness Premiership final would indicate Loffreda had found a balance and next year would be easier with a full summer's preparation.
"In this part of the world, in the professional game, it is all about winning," he conceded.
"It is unfair from one point of view. One part of the club just looks for results. The other part looks to have some time to adapt, to get used to the place, the culture and a different type of game.
"Both positions are understandable. I am in one position, the other part is in the other position.
"I am very happy what we have done with the team and with the players but it is not my opinion that counts."
Despite the doubt over his future and the impending review, Loffreda does not view Saturday's titanic struggle with Leicester's arch-rivals Wasps as anything more than a chance for the club to succeed.
"I try not think about the pressure and whether or not I am justified. I try to do my best, as I ask of the players," he said.
"In an ideal world I would have come here in the summer but the reality is different from an ideal world. Sometimes you have to accept it.
"The best way to fight against that is to do it with commitment and with your own strength and principles. I do not regret anything I have done.
"I don't regard this weekend in a personal way. This is for the squad and I am committed to that."
One of the criticisms levelled at Leicester is Loffreda has found it hard to be accepted because he is an outsider and not in tune with the Leicester way of working.
But forwards coach Richard Cockerill, who only three weeks ago declared the Tigers were not good enough to win the Premiership, insisted any such rumours are wide of the mark.
"It is a complete myth. We have more foreign players than we have ever had and they fit in extremely well," said Cockerill.
"When you look at the reception given to guys like Martin Castrogiovanni, Ben Herring and Aaron Mauger, where is the Leicester clique in that?
"If we can retain the title it would be fantastic for the club. It is not about Marcelo or myself or problems in the last few months. It is about the club.
"We have a responsibility to the owners, who are the supporters."