Warriors continue to stand by McClennan

The Warriors' senior players continue to stand by Brian McClennan and are welcoming the inclusion of Stephen Kearney to the club.

McClennan's likely to come under even further scrutiny this week after the Warriors fell to their sixth-straight loss against the Panthers at Mount Smart.

Stand-in captain Manu Vatuvei says McClennan's a good coach and Kearney would add something extra.

"It would be good to have him in the club, I've had him at the Kiwis and he's a great coach and with his help and with Bluey and Tony Iro, they'll make a good combo."

Vatuvei's revealed he's struggling being the captain of the Warriors.

He says he doesn't like the responsibility.

"I'm just happy to lead the boys and hopefully they're happy with me leading them."

McClennan says nothing's going his way and he's trying his best.

"We have our original leadership group we have of five. Not once this year we've had five of them on the field, in fact not once this year we've even had four of them on the field."

And a key Warriors figure could return this week to try and help them avoid the NRL's wooden spoon.

This round's loss means they're in 13th position, just two points ahead of the 15th placed Panthers.

But McClennan says they may welcome back captain Simon Mannering.

"He's a chance, he hasn't got into too much agility yet, he's doing some but it's going to depend on how much weight he can put on stepping and tackling."

There's some sympathy for embattled coach McClennan from former coach Ivan Cleary.

Cleary's Penrith Panthers inflicted more misery on the Auckland club, but Cleary can understand what Bluey is going through.

"Not a lot of fun, it's just part of the job, I had a bit of that. (That's one thing) I certainly haven't had this year, I've had total support and I certainly appreciate that in a tough scene but yeah that's the job you put your hand up for."

Manly remains in fourth on the ladder after their comprehensive 42-20 win over Newcastle at Brookvale Oval while the Titans are still in with a top eight shot thanks to 24-16 win over the Eels on the Gold Coast.

Photo: Photosport