Trent Barrett’s future at NRL club Manly is expected to be determined in the next fortnight, says Sea Eagles CEO Lyall Gorman.

Manly are attempting to negotiate Barrett’s exit after sacking his as coach and securing Des Hasler to take over as head coach on a three-year deal.

In a sensational move,Hasler returns to the club seven years after he departed Brookvale Oval in acrimonious circumstances. Hasler’s appointment has created an awkward situation for with Barrett who is still contracted to the club but clearly surplus to requirements.

Gorman says the situation is likely to be resolved soon.

“That will be resolved over the next couple of weeks, I would have thought. Probably by brains a bit smarter than me with lawyers and so on. Hopefully, respectfully and with dignity and class,” Gorman told Sydney radio 2KY’s Big Sports Breakfast.

Barrett’s position has been under scrutiny since the middle of the 2018 season after it was reported in July that he had signalled his intention to walk away from the club due to his frustration with a lack of resources.

Manly endured a miserable campaign finishing 15th with just seven wins.

Hasler has defended his controversial NRL salary-cap management record, claiming things would have been different if he’d had a chance to see out his plans in previous head-coaching roles.

Criticised for his use of back-ended contracts after being sacked by from both Canterbury in 2016 and Manly in 2011, the veteran mentor believed there was nothing wrong with his approach.

Look who is back in Manly colours. Des Hasler returns to Brookvale.

“I’ve always had a pretty robust philosophy towards the best way to manage cap and list management at the time,” Hasler said as he appeared to read a pre-written answer in Monday’s press conference to trumpet his arrival, after first saying it wasn’t the time to discuss Canterbury’s cap matters.

“With an incumbent coach it’s always that coach’s priority to look at that list and to manage that list and carve out a way going forward.

“I think that exercise shouldn’t be about laying the blame but rather (about) going forward.

“It will be no different for me and I will adopt that and it will be the same as when I was at Canterbury and also at Manly here prior to 2012.

“Players’ values are very subjective and it’s got to fit in with the coach’s plans at that particular time.

“I think it’s naive to suggest that one salary cap management plan is another’s misery.”

Hasler indicated on Monday he’d likely take a similar approach into his return at Manly, defending the method that took the club to two premierships.

“I’ve always had a plan. I’ve always been committed to executing that plan going into the future in my time at the Dogs and in time here prior to Manly,” Hasler said.

“Had I been retained in those coaching roles I would have been committed to seeing those plans through and manage those matters that I’ve always had.

“In my coaching time we’ve had some success.

“The notion of back-ended deals as reported is simplistic and generally wrong. It does not have regard to many factors that come into list management.”

-with AAP