A GRATEFUL Chris Fagan says it doesn’t quite feel right that he’s about to pass Leigh Matthews as the man to have coached Brisbane in the most games.
Fagan will lead the Lions for the 238th time on Saturday when they host Gold Coast at the Gabba, nudging him one clear of his great friend and mentor.
The club has gone all-out to celebrate the milestone this week, forming a guard of honour as Fagan entered Springfield’s Brighton Homes Arena for Thursday training and then holding a ceremony following the session to acknowledge his achievement.
Speaking ahead of his team’s captain’s run on Friday morning, an overwhelmed Fagan said all he wanted to do when given the job a decade ago was to help the Lions earn some respect again.
“The club's been really generous in the way that they've celebrated the occasion,” he said.
“Leigh Matthews has been even more generous in his comments about me, which is a little humbling, to be honest.
“It doesn't quite feel right to be breaking his record, but anyway, hopefully we can just live side by side in the history of the Brisbane Lions, and the people will appreciate what both of us did in our times here.”
What they’ve done is win five premierships between them – Matthews leading a historic hat-trick in the early 2000s and Fagan going back-to-back in the past two seasons.
Fagan said the enormity of his journey hit home on Thursday when giving an emotional speech in front of players and staff.
“I think when you get older, you get more emotional about things,” he said.
“When I got up to speak … I couldn't quite get all my words out, but I think people know how I feel about this club and the opportunity that they've given to me.
“I'm ever so grateful because who punts on a 55-year-old football manager from the Hawthorn Football Club? And they did. I'm so grateful for that, and we've had some great times together.
“In a way, premierships weren't the aim at the start. The aim at the start was just to get the club to be a good club again and get a level of respect within the competition.”
The Lions are unchanged to face the Suns from the team that belted Hawthorn last week, with co-captain Hugh McCluggage (calf) set to spend more time on the sidelines.
“Now that we know we're for sure in finals, you probably won't see him until we play our first final, whether that's the first week or the second week of the finals,” Fagan said.
“I think we've taken a cautious approach there. We don't want to rush him. He was running quite well yesterday, so we'll do the slow build-up. He’s really important to us.”
