ESSENDON CEO Xavier Campbell has made it clear that senior coach Ben Rutten is \u201cabsolutely\u201d the right man for the job.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the Essendon\u2019s 150th anniversary, which took place against Carlton at the MCG last Friday night, Campbell threw his full support behind Rutten.<\/p>\n
Asked on SEN Breakfast<\/em> if he has unwavering support for the coach, Campbell replied, \u201cAbsolutely, yeah, absolutely.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe Ben is absolutely the right person. I hear that from the players, I know that from the staff, I see it every day,\u201d Campbel said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Ben has proven that he can build that connection amongst the group. This year we haven\u2019t quite got to that point and Ben would be the first to acknowledge that we haven\u2019t got to that point.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he\u2019s a younger coach and we\u2019ve got to make sure he gets the best support. He wouldn\u2019t be the first coach in the competition to get more support at different times.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of 2020, if I looked at the team that we had there and the list demographic and profile, it\u2019s shifted markedly,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve embraced being younger and investing in the draft and investing in youth and that\u2019s where we sit right now.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been the second or youngest and least experienced team every week this year, but we believe we\u2019ve got a great nucleus there.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one at Essendon is staying we don\u2019t believe in the plan we\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe in the plan, we believe in the people, but we just need to enhance, invest in it and add further to it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will certainly be busy in this off-season.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been reviewed. That\u2019s essentially the process that boards have put in place when they look to reappoint or re-contract people in the football club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my perspective, I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s been straightforward in my eight years as CEO. The first four or five was managing something pretty extraordinary and it was very, very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell signed on for a further two seasons while Rutten is under contract until the end of 2023.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n