South Sydney coach Michael Maguire used a weights session at Redfern Oval to assure his players that he would not be leaving the club to join Newcastle next season.
With the Knights having targeted Maguire as the man to rebuild the club, the premiership-winning mentor addressed the forwards and backs as they trained in separate weights groups on Monday to tell them he was not considering leaving the Rabbitohs before the expiry of his contract in 2017.
Maguire also took the extraordinary step of reaffirming his commitment to the club in a video emailed to Souths' 35,000 members to inform them of the line-up for Friday night's match against Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
"I would like to let the members know that this is my club, I am not talking to anyone else and I want to stay here for as long as we can keep progressing and improving as a club," Maguire said.
"There are many things I want to achieve on and off the field at this club and to have the fans out there, the way they celebrate success and stick by us through the tougher times like they have over the years prior to me getting here, it is a special club and it is one I want to make sure I keep building things at."
​Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that negotiations had taken place between the Knights and Maguire's representatives but Newcastle's bid to lure him from Souths was considered a long shot.
