Benji Marshall rejected questions relating to pressure about his coaching future after his side's thumping 60-26 loss to Parramatta on Friday night. Marshall became the first rookie coach to claim the wooden spoon in more than 20 years, but remained steadfast in focusing on the club's long-term goals during his post-match press conference. The Tigers played 12 rookies this year, the most of any club, with their spine on Friday mainly consisting of teenagers. Yet Marshall admitted he may not have "time on his side" in turning the club around, but that won't stop him from trying to get the best out of the young players at Concord. "It (time) doesn't worry me because I'm not coaching to keep my job," Marshall said. "I'm coaching to try and make this club better. I'm coaching to try and make these kids better. "I honestly believe I can do that and if that's me for the next two years and we don't get the rewards and I'm not here and someone else does, that's how much I care about the club." Marshall blamed himself for telling his players to "play footy" on Friday night which may have contributed to their poor handling. He believes the club has a high ceiling in terms of their potential, with youngsters Lachlan Galvin, Heath Mason, Tallyn Da Silva and the Fainu brothers giving the joint venture hope for the future, along with the additions of Jarome Luai, Sunia Turuva, Jeral Skelton, Royce Hunt and Jack Bird for 2025. "The thing that people probably look at is success now and having overnight success," Marshall said. "We're looking at trying to have success for a long period of time, not just winning one year and go missing for the next three. "The biggest thing is when you haven't done the job before you think you know what the team needs and then when you've had a season doing it you get a real understanding of what it is. "It's probably my fault today because I encouraged them to play footy and, hence, we had a lot of errors coming out of our half."
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