After being radio silent for over three weeks, San Nicolas Sharks team manager Ceruver made himself available in a media availability session after the Sharks' training session earlier today.
The squad was coming off another loss yesterday evening, a 97-point beatdown at the hands of once fierce rival Tomaguyz at the SN Forum. But the manager did not exhibit frustration with the team during this morning's practices, as he probably knew that this was not a squad that he envisioned at the start of the season.
"I think it goes without saying that we did not want this season to go in this direction." the gaffer said in a prepared statement before taking in questions. "We had very high aspirations with the team that started this season. And we wanted to break the frustrating norm of starting very badly and working ourselves up mid-season only to be embarrassingly close to making the playoffs season after season."
"When we figured that we were about to go in the same direction this season, I had no choice but to make a drastic decision." he finally declared. "We have been in this situation before and we made decisions that took first the interest of the team and the fans first." he further added.
When asked about letting go of longtime stalwart CM Fabella, the manager was candid in his response. "The decision to let him go was a brutal one. Obviously his input on who to bring in to bolster the team is listened to because he has earned that right for being loyal to the organisation and the fanbase, but I do not fault him for wanting things to change as well when he felt fed up with the losses."
"In the end, the decision became mutual. He did not want to leave at first but with the team's standing being the way it is, he eventually agreed to leave the team. The decision was finalised just before the All-Star break, but we did not want to deny him the opportunity to play his final ASG for our team. He deserved that from us at the very least."
"Everyone else was an easier conversation relatively speaking. We needed to wipe the slate clean and this was our way in doing it in order to move forward."
"At this point, as hard as it is, we are asking for the understanding of the San Nicolas Sharks fanbase. The frustration amongst you is palpable with the losses that the previous team was incurring. And with this rebuild, we may be looking at a very bumpy road ahead."
When asked about the team's immediate future, the Sharks' manager was steadfast despite the obvious challenges ahead. "We're bringing in a new crop of talent to help the team build a new foundation. At this stage, everyone gets an opportunity as we need all the help that we can get from anyone that can give it." he finally concluded. "The objective now is to develop the young guns and help them along the process. We've been here before as well when we were developing the likes of CM and others. We just need to take the things we learned from previous experiences and employ them to this new generation."