Former Brisbane chief executive Bruno Cullen says he is not the saviour of embattled NRL club Cronulla, admitting he will not be in the Sharks’ recovery for the long haul.
At the request of the NRL, Cullen was on Friday called into assist the Sharks following the standing down of coach Shane Flanagan and the sacking of four key staff members.
The Sharks have operated without a chief executive for the past three years, but Cullen issued a statement on Saturday claiming he could only help out part-time and was not in a position to take on the role full-time.
“What I will not do is go into this with my ‘eyes wide shut’ and try and pretend I am some sort of saviour,” said Cullen, who was the Broncos CEO from 2003-2010.
“I will approach it professionally and in doing that I do not want to make promises I can’t keep or commit to various processes I have not got the capacity time wise to complete.
“I will not be a long-term CEO at the Sharks.
“When I know fully what is needed to be done I am, provided others want me to do so, willing to commit to an interim role in an effort to stabilise the club.”
While a final decision still needs to be made on Flanagan’s future at the club, Cullen said there were many issues which needed his immediate attention.
With the assistance of the NRL he will perform due diligence on the structure of the club, which now has a vacuum of resources following Friday’s sackings.
However, Cullen said his commitment was to the organisations he was involved with, which include two roles as the chairman of a company.
“This, while not full-time work, obviously occupies quite a deal of time,” Cullen said.
“I will not do anything that prevents me from fulfilling those responsibilities.
“I spoke to David Smith from the NRL late yesterday afternoon and he asked could I assist in helping out the Sharks who were struggling somewhat with both human and financial resources.
“I said I would but advised … I did have other commitments and couldn’t possibly do anything fulltime.”