Business as usual for Titans coach

Gold Coast coach John Cartwright says he's heard nothing from the NRL club's board that he's under pressure and is taking a business as normal approach.

Business as usual for Titans coach

Gold Coast coach John Cartwright's position was up for discussion after last weekend's NRL loss.

Gold Coast coach John Cartwright says he can't let media speculation over his future affect his work with the NRL club.

Cartwright's position has come up for discussion following last weekend's 32-4 loss to South Sydney, which left the club poised to miss out on finals for the third straight year.

Cartwright will meet with the club's interim chief executive Darryl Kelly on Wednesday but says contrary to media reports, the meeting is nothing out of the ordinary.

Claiming reporters loved seeing a coach under pressure, Cartwright said as far as he's concerned it's business as normal ahead of Sunday's must-win clash with Wests Tigers.

"I don't feel any more pressure than when I started the job," Cartwright said.

"I can't let that affect the performance that I do for the players.

"What people say is out of my control, I'll just go and do my job.

"As a club we've been under the pump for a long time. We've got some stable footings now, but we've still got a lot of catching up to do.

"We're going to be of the equal of all other clubs very soon."

Cartwright says his concerns are more immediate with a hefty injury toll from the bruising loss to the Rabbitohs forcing him to put together a makeshift team to play the Tigers.

Matt Srama (ankle), Luke Bailey (ankle) and Albert Kelly (sternum) have all been ruled out while William Zillman remains unavailable due to an ongoing groin complaint.

It's forced Cartwright to name Ashley Harrison at five-eighth while winger David Mead will move to fullback.

The Titans are two games outside the eight with just six rounds remaining and can all but kiss their finals hopes goodbye if they don't beat the Tigers.

"It's a season of 26 games not 16, the faith I have is there is a side there that can compete with any side in the competition," he said.

"We've just got to keep digging deep. I'll keep digging deep to find a way we can get back to where we were."

Titans: David Mead, Kevin Gordon, Brad Takairangi, Jamie Dowling, Anthony Don, Ashley Harrison, Aidan Sezer, Luke Douglas, Beau Falloon, Nate Myles, Ben Ridge, Mark Minichiello, Greg Bird. Interchange: David Taylor, Ryan James, Luke O'Dwyer, Sam Irwin.


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Source: AAP


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