Nathan Brown admits the Club's rebuild has hit a snag in 2018 due to a horror run with injury.
The nib Newcastle Knights Coach spoke at length about his plans for the future and how injuries to key men throughout the season have made progress difficult.
"Penrith's been going for seven years to get to where they are now," Brown said.
"It's not an easy process. This year, I've got no doubt, if we'd kept our top squad fit, we'd be in a better position.
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"We lost junior for half a year, we lost Slade Griffin for nearly half the year, Connor Watson is coming up to missing a third of the year and that's our nine, seven and six and they're all new at the Club.
"We've certainly had some things go against us. We lost Tau (Moga) after three weeks and he was our only really, what I would class as a strike centre.
"We've had a few things go against us this year which haven't helped us but we've also played our part in some things."
Brown took over the Knights in 2016 and while it's been a tough period for the Club, the plan he and his staff have put in place us to ensure sustained success and not a quick fix with no long-term strategy.
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"It's always a tough process," he said.
"When you rebuild You've got to get better from year one, to year two, to year three, to year four
"You don't want to spike and drop.
"For us. Everyone would agree when we've had a reasonable amount of our players on the field, were a far better team than we were last year.
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"We've got some more recruits coming next year and hopefully we'll have a bit of luck with Tau and a few of those (players) and we're going to be a better footy team next year.
"That's what the rebuild is about."
Part of the rebuild is adding quality to the roster.
Earlier this week, the Club was linked with English international half George Williams.
While a talented player Brown rates highly, the coach poured cold water on suggestions the playmaker is Newcastle-bound for 2019.
"The English game is a game I follow probably more than any of the other coaches in the NRL," Brown said.
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"George Williams is a young kid who played junior footy against St Helens when I was there. A very talented player.
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"He would certainly add to our squad. Have we had contact with George Williams? No, we haven't."
The Wigan talent is still under contract with the Warriors until the end of 2020.
While the playmaker confirmed he has a desire to test himself in the NRL, he denied he'd been approached by the Knights.
"It is something I have always dreamt to do so I definitely want to give it a go if there is a chance," Williams told NRL.com.
"Wigan would have to agree but if the NRL was an opportunity for me I would love to move to Australia to take that up."
