What a shame that for all the joy the Bendigo Spirit has given our city, over the past three years in particular, that the club is embroiled in an ugly break-up with successful coach Bernie Harrower, who has been at the helm since Bendigo’s WNBL inception.

A coach who has led the Spirit into the WNBL play-offs six times in the club’s eight seasons, and into the past three grand finals, winning two.

Yet he was initially made to fight to retain his job following the club’s announcement it would be advertising the coaching role, before it was later revealed Harrower had a third year option that would take in the 2015-16 season in his current contact.

Harrower having been initially told he would have to reapply seems akin to Alistair Clarkson – for he too has just coached in three-straight grand finals - having to sell his case of why he should continue leading Hawthorn to the Hawks’ board.

Issues between Harrower - who has a 129-65 record - and the Spirit board have been clearly festering away through much of this year and the communication breakdown between the two parties was never more evident on Thursday.

The Spirit issued a media release through chairman Greg Bickley stating: “Bernie Harrower has rejected the Bendigo Spirit’s offer to coach the 2015-16 season” and “the club has no alternative but to look elsewhere for a coach for the coming season.”

Yet the first Harrower said he knew of such an announcement was when contacted by the Bendigo Advertiser, with his comments clearly at odds with those of Bickley: “I want to coach next year. I am looking forward to staying on."

What’s that saying – the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing?

Again, that’s a shame, for it has been put on the record that without the financial support of the current board there would be no Bendigo Spirit, yet if it wasn’t for Harrower coaching, perhaps there wouldn’t be two WNBL championship trophies either.

I’m not privy to all the backroom angst at the Spirit between board and coach, but the longer this drags on and the “he said, she said” continues, it’s hurting the brand of a club that despite all its success of recent seasons on the national stage is always seemingly going to be teetering on the edge of survival, just like the now defunct Bendigo Gold.

You’ve only got to have a look at the comments on the Spirit’s Facebook page in recent weeks when media releases relating to the coaching saga have been posted to get a strong feeling of unrest among supporters of the club.

And considering the picture that is being painted by the club of its financial position – “Make no mistake, we are fighting for survival, and we are just hanging on. It’s one day at a time,” Bickley said last weekend - the Spirit can’t afford to have the Bendigo community turn its back.

Not to mention the playing group in limbo, because if you’re a rival WNBL club, with all the uncertainty around the Bendigo Spirit coaching position, why wouldn’t you be circling around uncontracted players who have just been part of a team making three grand finals in a row.

What a shame.