Comets coach lost for words

By Gavin Staindl
CASEY Comets coach Debbie Nichols has threatened to walk away from the Women’s Premier League club after another spiritless performance closed the door on their finals chances.
Trailing 1-0 at half time to Bendigo in the must win home match, Nichols gave an emotional half time speech pleading with her side to improve in the second half.
They lost 3-0.
The distraught coach left the ground immediately after the game and refused to speak to the players for fear of saying something she might later regret.
“They were abysmal. Horrible … they lacked character and there is no other way of describing it,” Nichols said
“They let the club down, they let the team down and they let me down,” Nichols said.
To qualify for the finals the Comets needed to win this week and then beat Ashburton the following week to sneak into fourth spot but the lacklustre performance has left Nichols questioning her future as coach.
“I’m threatening to walk away.
“I feel like I’m wasting my time here and I’m wasting other people’s time here and the only reason I haven’t left already is that I don’t want to walk out on the few people that try so hard every week,” Nichols said.
The typically jovial Nichols, who is a popular club figure among the Comets and has been at the helm of the Premier League club for over 10 years, said that the younger members of the side are being too selfish.
“Instead of asking what can I do to be better they should be asking what can I do to make my team-mate better.
“They have to realise that it is not about them it is about the club … and if they look to play for their team-mates they’re more likely to get a better reward.
“We’re playing at the pinnacle here in the Premier League but some of us take it as a second or third string commitment.
“For us to go forward we need the players to be fully committed to it … it is going to be really hard to ask the senior players like Jen Black, Mel Atherton and Emma Bracken to go around another year again,” Nichols said.
Captain Emma Bracken reiterated Nichols point and said the younger players “have a different way of thinking” to the senior players.
“We were pretty gutted after the performance (against Bendigo).
“Mathematically we’re still a chance to make finals but we need to stop making the same excuses every week.
“Debbie puts everything into this club and we need to start giving back to her,” Bracken said.