Newcastle Knights CEO Phil Gardner has refuted allegations of sabotage directed towards him by key figures in the game, most notably club legend Andrew Johns.
Of all the accusations against the Knights boss, the club's alleged discussions with new coach Adam O'Brien before Brown was eventually prompted to step aside have received the most criticism.
It was subsequently rumoured key advisors to the club, Danny Buderus and John Quayle, also chose to walk away after not being consulted on Gardner's movements behind the scenes.
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Speaking to Fox League reporter James Hooper, Gardner denied these claims and rebutted suggestions his management had acted beyond the interests of the club.
“Absolutely not, when I spoke to both John and Danny, the night of Nathan’s resignation, we discussed where this should sit," Gardner told Fox League.
“Their view clearly was the transitionary nature of this committee needed to come to an end.
“Danny didn’t have the time and he is also very close to Nathan and so there was an issue with that.
“This was a decision for the Board. As all clubs have in the NRL the boards of those clubs are making the decisions around the head coach.”
The reaction to the club crisis was there for all to see at McDonald Jones Stadium last Saturday.
Knights fans boycotted the club's famous 'Old Boys Day', by producing their lowest ever attendance to a home game since 1997, which in the process signified Johns' accusations of Gardner.
"We played at Saturday 3 o'clock, which is the worst time for us. We had 73 millimeters of rain, it rained all day Friday and we had no walk-ups - that's the reality of it," Gardner explained.
"If there was going to be some really major impact, we would've heard a lot on social media. We had less than 50 people on social media saying they weren't going to come, they weren't going to buy tickets.
"All our (leagues) clubs were absolutely packed."
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NRL360 co-host Paul Kent likened Gardner's comments to the famous Black Knight from Monty Python, suggesting the Knights boss was in strong denial.
“He reminds me of that other Knight who is famously in denial from Monty Python,” Kent claimed.
“The fact is Trent Robinson called in Adam O’Brien weeks ago to get a gauge on whether they sack Adam O’Brien immediately or if he could continue doing the job at the Roosters.
“At that point Phil Gardner says there was no approach to Adam O’Brien, so is this just hysterical paranoia from the Roosters?
“Quayle and Buderus walked away because they were left out of this discussion. That is a fact. You can spin it anyway you like."
The Daily Telegraph's Paul Crawley echoed Kent's sentiments, and suggested Gardner was blind to the damage he'd caused the famous club.
"Seriously he doesn't know his market, he knows what's happening in his league's club, but he's got no clue about what's going on in rugby league," Crawley said.
"Joey knows what Joey knows, and he knows a lot about Newcastle and he says they've sabotaged the season, and he still can't admit it.
"He can't admit that Danny Buderus did a story in last weekend's Newcastle Herald explaining why he walked away."
