Dons’ CEO says Rutten is right man for the job

ESSENDON CEO Xavier Campbell has made it clear that senior coach Ben Rutten is “absolutely” the right man for the job.

The Bombers find themselves sitting 16th on the ladder after a 2-9 start to the 2022 season which has placed mounting pressure on the second-year coach, who led the club to finals in 2021.

Ahead of the Essendon’s 150th anniversary, which took place against Carlton at the MCG last Friday night, Campbell threw his full support behind Rutten.

Asked on SEN Breakfast if he has unwavering support for the coach, Campbell replied, “Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

“We believe Ben is absolutely the right person. I hear that from the players, I know that from the staff, I see it every day,” Campbel said.

“I think Ben has proven that he can build that connection amongst the group. This year we haven’t quite got to that point and Ben would be the first to acknowledge that we haven’t got to that point.

“But he’s a younger coach and we’ve got to make sure he gets the best support. He wouldn’t be the first coach in the competition to get more support at different times.”

The Bombers roll out one of the youngest teams in the league week in, week out, and Campbell said that is something Rutten has had to deal with.

But he is confident that strategy will come out in the wash and eventually give the Bombers a foundation from which to launch a successful era.

“At the end of 2020, if I looked at the team that we had there and the list demographic and profile, it’s shifted markedly,” Campbell said.

“We’ve embraced being younger and investing in the draft and investing in youth and that’s where we sit right now.

“We’ve been the second or youngest and least experienced team every week this year, but we believe we’ve got a great nucleus there.

“No one at Essendon is staying we don’t believe in the plan we’ve got.

“We believe in the plan, we believe in the people, but we just need to enhance, invest in it and add further to it.

“We will certainly be busy in this off-season.”

Campbell recently signed a new deal with the Dons, which came prior to the announcement of an external review, and insists his own role was reviewed prior to the extension.

“I have been reviewed. That’s essentially the process that boards have put in place when they look to reappoint or re-contract people in the football club,” he said.

“From my perspective, I wouldn’t say it’s been straightforward in my eight years as CEO. The first four or five was managing something pretty extraordinary and it was very, very difficult.”

Campbell signed on for a further two seasons while Rutten is under contract until the end of 2023.

– BY ANDREW SLEVISON/ SEN