The Crows will host the Dogs at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night <\/a>in a sudden death final. <\/p>\nNicks himself conceded last month, when it looked like the Crows could be in one of the wildcard spots, that an early exit from finals could spell the end of his time in charge at West Lakes. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I\u2019ve had the seven best years cracking in with this group,\u201d Nicks said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut I came in saying I wanted to leave this footy club in a better position than when I arrived and at the moment we are in a pretty strong position and I\u2019m pretty proud of that.<\/p>\n
The Crows avoided the wildcard weekend and Cornes, who wrote in the Sunday Mail that there was an \u201celement of fatalism\u201d in Nicks comments about his future, said the pressure on him was still sky-high ahead of the Dogs clash. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs difficult or as unfair as it might seem he is coaching for his future,\u201d Cornes said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut he knows that.\u201d <\/p>\n
Nicks\u2019 future if the Crows do go down to the Bulldogs was a big talking point on the Monday night footy shows.<\/p>\n
Responding to the prospect of Nicks losing his job, St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt said he \u201ccan\u2019t believe we\u2019re having this conversation\u201d given the Crows win\/loss record over the past two seasons. <\/p>\n
It was echoed by Crows great Taylor Walker on his weekly radio spot on Triple M on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I will say is our footy club is right behind \u2018Nicksy\u2019 and we are absolutely pumped for the finals series and we are looking forward to what we can do,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cOut of the blue for mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes we haven\u2019t won a final but we have sat up there with Freo for win\/loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it baffling.\u201d <\/p>\n
The last time a coach was sacked after making finals was 20-years ago when the Saints parted ways with Grant Thomas after their elimination final loss to Melbourne. <\/p>\n
Thomas, who had coached the Saints to consecutive preliminary finals in the two years prior, said the pressure on him would not be a revelation to Nicks. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had no understanding or expectation of being sacked,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was blindsided by mine after the game, so leading into that game I had no understanding or awareness of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was only well after the game I realised that even if we won the premiership that year, because of relationship circumstances I would have been terminated that year anyway. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo it is a little bit different in that regard, but in relation to Matthew Nicks he has done a reasonably good job.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been there for seven years, I think seven or eight years is about it at a club anyway to be honest if you haven\u2019t had success or you are really strongly knocking down the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any great revelations here, I don\u2019t think there is any great concern here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he would be silly enough to use it as any added storyline or motivation to the players before the game or anything like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is purely a fact of life, you have a set amount of time to perform and deliver success.\u201d <\/p>\n
While the Crows did make finals last year, the first time since 2017, they were bundled out in straight sets, failing to win even a single quarter against both Collingwood and Hawthorn. <\/p>\n
Brisbane great Jonathan Brown said Nicks was \u201cabsolutely\u201d in trouble if the Crows did not win a final this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe natives will be restless (in Adelaide) unfortunately for Nicksy,\u201d Brown said on Fox Footy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey went out in straight sets last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he is a really good coach but it is your record they go by.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cornes said not winning a quarter in their two finals games last year did hurt Nicks\u2019 status. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere has to be fight (on Saturday), people have to see a future for the club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe masses are restless, you can see it by the social media feedback.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way to silence this is to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that the club should take note of the masses, but it is a consideration.\u201d <\/p>\n
Originally published as Adelaide Crows back coach Matthew Nicks regardless of crunch finals result<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Club chairman John Olsen has pushed back on reports suggesting Adelaide will axe the seventh-year coach unless 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