Trent Barrett will remain with Manly until at least the end of the regular season after chairman Scott Penn confirmed he'd still coach the team for the final-round clash with Brisbane
Barrett trained the NRL team on Monday but appears a dead-man walking at the Sea Eagles, after his public falling out with the club's management and owners over club resources.
There had been suggestions the third-year coach could have been sacked as soon at the start of this week and replaced by John Cartwright, as discussions remain ongoing about his future.
But when asked about Barrett's fate and whether he would still be coach come Sunday's game, majority owner Penn was adamant in his response.
"Yes of course, that was never in question," he told AAP.
Barrett still has two years left to run in his contract, but it's become increasingly clear that the situation at the Sea Eagles is untenable.
It's believed he approached the club earlier this season regarding the resources promised to him in a contract extension signed last year, and also gave his 12 months' notice in July.
Barrett finally went public over the weekend on his complaints, which largely centred around the facilities for players at the club's base of Narrabeen and a lack of football department staff.
The Sea Eagles are currently operating without a recruitment manager, pathways coach and assistant accountant to help oversee salary cap management.
But Penn is insistent the club have fulfilled all obligations to Barrett, after having provided room in the organisation's budget for the positions the coach wanted filled.
Chief executive Lyall Gorman told members earlier this month filling those positions were all in the pipeline, while Manly have unsuccessfully made offers for the role of recruitment manager.
Penn is also adamant the facilities at Narrabeen are workable, pointing to previous success there and a recent $500,000 upgrade of the gym.
In all likelihood, all that stands between Barrett and the end of his tenure at Manly is the terms of his departure and whether the club will be forced to make a payout, after the coach admitted in a News Corp interview this weekend he wouldn't change his decision to leave.
Regardless, the year hasn't been a good one for either party.
Manly could still be handed their first wooden spoon in the club's 70-year history on Sunday if they are flogged by Brisbane and Parramatta upset the Sydney Roosters, although that appears unlikely.
They have also struggled from saga to saga, including the salary cap scandal where their penalties are still in the appeals process and the ill-fated Gladstone trip which culminated in Jackson Hastings' release.
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