Frank Endacott feels that dumped Warriors coach Brian McClennan was let down by some players in the side.

The former Warriors and Kiwis coach said he was not surprised to see McClennan made the scapegoat for the club's six successive losses and felt sympathy for the Aucklander.

"Some players were giving their all for him but some weren't," said Endacott, who declined to be specific.

"There is no hole that cannot be dug out of but you need to do it together and some were digging with their fingers, not shovels."

It is believed that though some of the squad may have publicly supported McClennan, they expressed differing views privately.

Endacott said it would be inevitable that owners Eric Watson and Owen Glenn wanted wins and would not tolerate the club's slide.

However, Endacott believed that if the Warriors had beaten Penrith last weekend, a match they lost in the final five minutes, and they won another of their last two regular season matches, it could have been enough to save McClennan's position.

Endacott said the Warriors appeared a well-heeled club financially. If he was in control, he would secure the Storm's accomplished Craig Bellamy as the replacement.

"I'd offer him $1 million to do the job. He likes New Zealand players and is a top-line coach who would make a real difference at that club.

"There would be a cleanout and some would fall by the wayside, but if you gave him a three-year term he would get the club humming." Endacott said he always liked to see a coach get three years to prove their worth.

"It was always going to be hard for Bluey coming in after they reached the grand final last year and everyone expecting the top four, at least. It was also his first season in that pressure-cooker competition. But every high-profile coach goes in knowing their head is on the block and they all have their expiry date. That's the ruthless world of coaching but it just wasn't all down to him."

- © Fairfax NZ News