Pat Lam described reports in the press that he could lose his job as Bristol Bears director of rugby at the end of the season as ‘white noise’ he won’t let distract him from the job at hand.
Lam has been consistent throughout his five and half years at Bristol in saying he does not allow outside noise in the press, and to a lesser extent even from the fans, impact him and the way he runs the club.
Lam arrived at Bristol in 2017 from Connacht, with the club having yo-yoed back down to the Championship after one year in the Premiership in an all too familiar tale for the then long-suffering fanbase..
In his first season Bristol won promotion back to the top flight, in his second season they finished ninth in the Premiership, third in his third year before losing 47-24 to Wasps in the play-offs but earning the club’s first major silverware in 37 years after winning the European Challenge Cup with a famous victory over Toulon.
In year four the Bears finished a distant top of table in the Premiership and looked to be cruising to the final for the first time in the club’s history in the professional era after going 28-0 up in the semi-final at Ashton Gate against Harlequins. Until half time in that game back in June, 2021 the club’s trajectory under Lam had been, up, up, up. Quins’ remarkable, devastating comeback to win 43-36 before going on to claim the title that season marked the start of a worrying decent which Lam’s side have yet to correct, at least in terms of the league table.
In year five of the Lam era the Bears finished 10th, and more than halfway through season six and Bristol are bottom of the table having won just 11 of 36 league games since that seismic semi-final defeat.
Under that cloud, The Rugby Paper reported on Sunday in their rumours section that Lam’s job was under threat unless results pick up, despite the former Samoan captain still having five years left on his contract which runs to 2028 after a monster extension deal in 2021.
The publication reports former Wasps boss Lee Blackett, who is currently working as backs coach at United Rugby Championship side the Scarlets, could be an option to replace Lam.
Lam is widely reported to be the highest-paid director of rugby in the Premiership, which adds pressure with his club sitting bottom of the pile, but would also make a payout very painful, even for billionaire owner Steve Lansdown.
Asked directly about the reports in the Sunday paper during his midweek press conference, Lam told Bristol Live: “None of that surprises me.
“I will be 55 soon and one thing you learn with experience in this job is that of course there is always pressure. We are in a performance industry.”
Lam was previously fired from his first senior club coaching job with Super Rugby side the Auckland Blues back in 2012 following a poor season before rebuilding his reputation at Connacht, transforming the Irish province from whipping boys to champions in 2016.
Lam continued: “I never worry when everyone says ‘You are great,’ ‘Coach of the Year,’ ‘You should be doing this, you should be doing that.’ It is like white noise.
“When you win, everyone loves you, when you lose everyone gets on your back, so I am not worried about.
“I have a very strong relationship with Steve [Lansdown] and the board.
“Everyone sees what happens on the field, and of course we all know we are underperforming, but there are still eight games to go and I am very confident we will come home strong.”
“But I think the big thing is I don’t waste too much of my energy on that stuff [rumours]. Honestly.”
The Premiership remains devilishly tight with basement side Bristol just 11 points off the play-offs with a game in hand and 40 still up for grabs. That spells opportunity.
Lam said: “Every game counts. We have to move up the table now, we know that. But it is one game at a time. Three of us have eight games, the other eight have seven games left so we have that advantage but it starts one at a time.
“The good thing for us is in the next four games [Newcaslte (H),Bath (A), Northampton (H), Harlequins (H)], we are not travelling anywhere really. Bath is right around the corner but our next game is our focus and we are looking forward to being back at Ashton Gate.”
And with good reason, a result against Newcastle on Friday night could see the Bears leapfrog ninth-place Falcons and start their climb up the table and start to change the narrative around the club this season, but in terms of the 2022/23 domestic season it is a case of now or never.
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