Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary has given hooker Robbie Farah assurances he will remain at the club next year, despite speculation surrounding Penrith's interest in the mentor.
Cleary's future, the destination of his son Nathan and the vacant Panthers coaching role are all but certain to be story of the off-season.
Cleary has refused to answer questions on the topic since providing a brief statement last month, where he vowed to honour his Tigers contract which expires at the end of 2020.
However, it came after the Panthers revealed they had only sacked then-coach Anthony Griffin because the Tigers mentor was going to speak to his board about Penrith's interest in him.
Farah, now aged 34, last week committed to another year at the NRL club alongside fellow veteran Benji Marshall, and said he'd confirmed Cleary's future before committing to his own.
"I asked him, I rang him because obviously he was key to all my negotiations and he really wanted me to stay," Farah told Fox Sports' League Life.
"After everything happened and my negotiations were getting further down the track, I rang him and said 'mate, are you staying? Because I don't want to go through another coach'.
"He assured me he was going to be there and that was the only gauge I could get, through my conversations with him,
"He's planning for next year and we all hope he stays."
It comes after Cleary has long said he wants to work with son Nathan at some point in the near future.
The Panthers halfback is off-contract at the end of next season, making him free to negotiate with from November 1 of this year.
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