"I don't walk away from things.

"I have a belief in this union; it can do what needs to be done although it's not helpful that some small, obscure groups don't have the same belief.

"You'll never please every single person."

It appears the rep team, management and its support will have a more professional shape after the current review is undertaken. One of McAlister's beefs was that he lacked support.

"Everything is being looked at at the moment. I think we're going in the right direction."

After the resignation of McAlister, the search is on for a new NPC coach of some standing.

Hurricanes' development officer Jonathon Phillips has been seconded to help Bruce Hemara run the team until about the end of the month. He is in Palmerston North until Thursday this week.

Phillips is respected enough to be acceptable to the players for the NPC season but he has duties with the other unions in the Hurricanes region to also attend to.

However, Smith said there are others in the Hurricanes organisation who can help and prevent Manawatu being "left totally in the lurch".

Smith said the union will be open-minded about employing a new coach because he appreciates most candidates would have had their year mapped out. If someone can't start until mid-July for instance, it won't rule him out being taken on.

It's unlikely anyone will take on the job unless the support is in place.

"We have to make sure we have a professional structure to support a professional team and make sure what we are doing is appropriate," said Smith.

Trainer Paul Hamson was understood to have submitted his resignation on Friday. But he was at training on Sunday and might stay if a few issues are resolved.

Smith believes they can be.

Whether Mike Banks will stay as manager is also still to be confirmed.

"Everything is being looked at at the moment," said Smith.

He said the training squad of 60 had been a hard situation to manage until it was split into two squads. The Manawatu B squad was picked on June 2 but the NPC squad has yet to be named.

The New Zealand Rugby Union demands every premier team must have two coaches (one fulltime and who is responsible for the high performance programme), a fulltime physical trainer, a video analyst (can be part-time) and a fulltime manager for the duration of the competition.

It must also have access to medical support throughout the year with fulltime access to a doctor and physiotherapist during the NPC.

By PETER LAMPP