Mitch Johnstone was caught “totally off guard” when delivered the news of his sacking as coach of the Werribee Cricket Club by Tigers president Kirk Norton.
Just one season into a three-year contract, Johnstone lived up to all his promises in his first season at Watton Street, but it seems nothing short of a sub-district premiership would have kept him at the cage.
“From an on-field perspective, I set out three goals for the club this season,” Johnstone told Star Weekly. “To finish top three in the club championship, to have one team win a premiership and for all teams to play finals. All those things were ticked off.”
Clearly, this was not a decision made by Werribee with wins and losses in mind.
Johnstone held a lengthy discussion with Norton, who outlined some operational issues in the coaching ranks as the reason behind the decision.
“There seems to have been a few off-field issues, which were never brought to my attention until my dismissal,” Johnstone said. “We had a long conversation about the reasons why and I guess it wasn’t salvageable as it was determined by the club.
“I thought a lot of the things that were being mentioned to me were easily addressed. I thought the process was rushed and didn’t allow me to address concerns.”
Johnstone admits he demanded a lot of the Werribee players, which might have got the odd player off side.
His appointment originally came with a view of the club being in contention for a Premier Cricket licence, so he was asked to set up and lead an elite training program.
It appears there was not a universal buy-in from the players.
“I’m not a Werribee born and bred boy, so I tried to bring a few new ideas and thoughts and methods into the club, and, for the most part, it was really well received and the results reflect that,” Johnstone said. “There’s no doubt I expect a lot out of the players and at times I probably reflect and think maybe it’s too much, but I don’t apologise for that.
“We’re just trying to set up an environment where it’s continuous improvement and the overwhelming majority of the players bought into that. We’re playing a high level of cricket and players are wanting to do well and improve, as well as enjoy the social aspect, which is why sub-district cricket is such a good competition. I think the balance was pretty good.”
Johnstone, who took Roxburgh Park-Broadmeadows from the depths of the ladder to a grand final and Werribee from a top-six outsider to the semi finals, has become one of the hottest properties on market.
“This hasn’t deterred my ambition to coach or be involved in cricket at a high level,” he said. “I really enjoyed my time at the club and working with arguably the best playing list in the competition, fantastic facilities and plenty of community support.
“It’s just disappointing not being able to see out the journey and see where it could’ve headed in the next couple of years. I’ll certainly be moving on to my next challenge and I’m really excited to be looking at some options over the next few weeks. People are ringing to say sorry to hear what’s happened and then suddenly there’s little offers.”
Werribee has signalled its intention to proceed quickly with the appointment of a new coach.
The Tigers released a statement on their Facebook page, which read: ‘The Werribee Cricket Club thank Mitch for his contribution to the club throughout the 2015-16 season and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. An announcement regarding a replacement will be advised shortly’.
