Michael Ennis has opened up about being let go as an assistant coach at the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Ennis was in the running to take up the role of interim coach, after it was announced on Monday morning that Shane Flanagan would be departing the club.
The interim position was ultimately handed to fellow assistant coach Dean Young, who in his first day at the top job made some bold decisions, one of which was letting Ennis go.
“It was disappointing in the first part that Shane (Flanagan) and I are obviously very close, and to see how difficult it's been for him as a close friend and a great mentor and a great coach,” Ennis told the Fox Sports panel on Thursday.
“That was tough on Monday... and then obviously disappointing after having a conversation with Dean (Young) because I love coaching, and I thoroughly understand that with the position that the club's in and the results they've had, they needed to make some change.”
“I respect him for the conversations that he had,” Ennis said to Fox League about Young.
“(I) can really do nothing more than to wish them well, there's some great people at the Dragons and whilst results haven't been there, there's great things happening there and I'm really looking forward to watching them.
“I hope Dean does a great job with them which I'm sure he will.”
Ennis has been at the Dragons since September, meaning the ex player was yet to see the Dragons win during his tenure after the team suffered 11 straight losses.
Despite the decision to show Ennis the door, the two former assistant coaches are on good terms.
“That one was hard, mate, to be honest,” Young said on the decision to part ways with Ennis
“The toughest part of the job is telling people that there's no job here for them. I've known Mick for a long time.
“Unfortunately he's part of the change. We need a circuit breaker. We need things to look different. We need things to feel different.”
