NRL: 'I'll be here as long as it takes' - Warriors coach Kearney

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has endured a difficult season at the club. Photo / photosport.nz

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney is adamant he is the right man for the job - and he is determined to be at Mt Smart for "as long as it takes".

Kearney has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks, as the team's 2017 campaign has gradually unravelled.

The team is on a five-match losing streak and it could get worse, with the visit of the Raiders tomorrow and an away match against the Rabbitohs next Saturday.

There were high hopes at the start of this season. The acquisition of Kieran Foran completed the Kiwis test spine, and Warriors CEO Jim Doyle described the new look coaching set up as the best in the club's history.

That optimism hasn't translated into results. The team has won only seven games, and the majority of those wins were against clubs near the foot of the ladder. They've managed only one victory across the Tasman - which represents the worst return in any of the last six years - and haven't overhauled a halftime deficit all year.

Most fans accept that Kearney should be given more time, especially as he has inherited the current team, but it's been an underwhelming first year.

However Kearney remains bullish.

"What has happened this year makes me even more determined," Kearney told the Herald on Sunday. "In terms of the right person, I've never doubted myself. The situation just highlights that it is a process and it is going to take time but I'm even more excited about the challenge, and about where we need to be."

Kearney sees himself as part of the long term picture at Mt Smart.

"This place has had five coaches in seven years," said Kearney. "How can anyone be consistent if things are always changing? I want to be here for as long it takes. Sometimes the reality of where the club is it doesn't reveal itself until you have some hard times...but that makes you more determined to stick to it and keep persevering. It's not about pointing the finger; the most important thing is that we get it done...we get it right."

Tomorrow's match will be Kearney's 63rd as a NRL head coach, after 42 at Parramatta (10 wins) in 2011 and 2012. He has wide ranging experience, with 40 tests in charge of the Kiwis and nine years in assistant roles at the Storm and Broncos, but is still on the learning curve.

"As a coach you are always learning," said Kearney. "I don't want to compare this job with Parramatta, because there were a lot of differences. What I will say is that I wasn't ready for that particular role, at that particular time, at that particular club. But I'm a lot further along now than I was."

Kearney also has faith in his prescribed style of play, which is more conservative and structured than previous Warriors outfits.

"We need a style of play that will hold up under extreme pressure," said Kearney. "If you don't have that, you won't be playing deep into September. It's about striking the balance; you can't have offloads and second phase without getting the foundations right."

Despite the galling statistics - at this stage of the season the team has won fewer matches that the 2012 side, which is seen as the low water mark for this decade - Kearney is adamant the club is on the right track.

"We are trying to build something here and you can't just click your fingers and it will take you there," said Kearney. "There are building blocks for players and staff but as an organization we know where we have to get to."