'Into themselves': Gould slams Gold Coast Titans players

Phil Gould isn’t known for mincing his words, and the league great hasn’t held back in his assessment of the Gold Coast Titans.

The Queensland club has copped a battering from all corners after sacking head coach Garth Brennan in the midst of another putrid season.

Gould however, says Brennan’s ineffectiveness as coach was a symptom of the club’s problems, rather than its cause.

Speaking on Wide World of Sports’ Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould said he had warned Brennan about what he was getting into when he took the Gold Coast coaching job in 2017.

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“The NRL is another beast, when you get your first job you’ve got to be very careful of where you take your job and for fellas like him you’ve sort of got to take the one that’s available,” Gould said.

“And I just said to him at the time, I said ‘be careful what you wish for here, this is a big job, don’t try and do it all at once’ and he’s competitive, he knows the game, unfortunately I think he’s just run into a culture and a group of players that — how can I say it — they’re more into themselves than what’s right for the club.

“It’s failed over a long period of time to establish what kind of club it is.

“If it just wants to be a club on the Glitter Strip at the Gold Coast it will get the sort of results that it’s got right now.

“But it has to be a beacon of inspiration and aspiration for all kids everywhere; if they want to play in the NRL this is the place they want to be and they just haven’t done that.”

Titans ready to relocate if next coach fails

Gold Coast executive chairman Dennis Watt has labelled the appointment of the club's next coach as "the last stand" - crucial to the Titans' NRL survival.

Watt revealed on Monday it was he who decided to sack coach Garth Brennan following Friday's 24-2 loss to Penrith, which left the Titans rooted to the bottom of the ladder after 17 rounds.

The pair met on Saturday morning when Watt told Brennan his time at the Titans was up, less than two years into the role.

With the process to find Brennan's replacement underway, Watt pulled no punches about the importance of getting the right man in to deliver elusive sporting success to Australia's sixth-largest city.

"We're in no doubt that this is it," Watt said.

"This is the last stand, we have to get it right.

"There are plenty of other people banging on the door who would probably like to launch teams elsewhere."