BRISBANE Lions director Leigh Matthews has shot down any suggestion coach Justin Leppitsch is under pressure to lose his job, confirming he will hold his role in 2017.
Leppitsch is contracted to the Lions until the end of 2017 but has come under fire as his side has again struggled this season, winning just one game in the opening 11 rounds.
Matthews admitted the Lions are struggling on field but said the club needed to stick to its plan under Leppitsch, who played in three flags under Matthews from 2001-2003.
"I have a pretty simple principle in life and that is we are somewhere between perseverance and change all the time. The Brisbane Lions at the moment has to be in a stretch of perseverance and that's how the club is thinking," Matthews told FiveAA.
"People always wonder what's going on with the coach, well Justin Leppitsch is already contracted for 2017 and will be the coach in 2017. No bones about that, because we are very much in perseverance mode at this stage of the club's evolution."
Matthews said the club in recent years had also appointed a new list manager in Peter Schwab, new football boss in Matthew Francis and new welfare manager in Craig Lambert, and that they would continue to hold firm to their plans alongside Leppitsch.
"We've embarked on enormous change the last couple of years and there's been enormous changeover within our playing list," Matthews said.
The Lions have again been hit hard by injuries, including being without star midfielder Dayne Beams for all but two games this season as he battles a knee injury.
However, they have lost five games by more than 10 goals and haven't won since defeating rivals Gold Coast in round four.
Leppitsch is into his third season at the helm of the Lions, with 12 wins from 55 games in charge.
He has completely overhauled the playing list since taking over the reigns at the end of 2013, making 34 changes in three off-seasons.
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