Mission to save Sharks from the abyss Cronulla deputy chairman Keith Ward and retired judge Tricia Kavanagh at last night's press conference to announce the standing down of Sharks coach Shane Flanagan and four other officials. FORMER Brisbane Broncos boss Bruno Cullen was last night handed the job of saving Cronulla from the financial abyss on a day of seismic shifts at the embattled club brought on by the ongoing Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation. Cullen's appointment - announced in joint statements by the NRL and the Sharks, and pending the parties agreeing terms - came as the club stood down coach Shane Flanagan and parted ways with another four officials, including doctor Dave Givney. All five were meeting their legal counsel at Flanagan's house last night as they came to terms with the shock and disappointment of yesterday's decision. At the same time, Cullen was watching the Broncos take on Manly at Suncorp Stadium, although his focus is set to turn to Cronulla as early as Monday. He will then begin the onerous task of saving the club from the extinction, although he did stress in an interview with The Australian last night that he was yet to officially accept the position. He made it clear his ability to work with the Sharks would hinge on whether he could take care of his other business interests. Regardless, the fact he was approached shows how dire the situation has become at a club which has lived for years on the smell of an oily rag. The Australian Crime Commission report into drugs, match-fixing and organised crime, which was followed by the ASADA investigation, cost the clubs millions in sponsorship which it could ill-afford to lose. "The approach to me doesn't have anything to do with the current drug issue, it has to do with the current stability at the club," said Cullen, who also held talks with NRL chief executive Dave Smith yesterday. I have said I will do what I can do but I just need to do some more investigations as to what the exact situation is so I can get my head around what needs to be done. I was approached to stand-in as CEO but I haven't got the time to do that. But I certainly do have the time to do a job on an interim sense with regard to getting them to the position they need to be with regard to financial and human resources. They're asking me to give advice and existence in that regard. I am happy in the first instance to work out the time I have available to do that because of my other interests. I won't allow this to affect that. I hope I can help them out but certainly my target would be to make sure the advice I gave them would be in a position that they could move forward very quickly ... with people on a more permanent basis. Rumours of Cullen's appointment were swirling for most of the day, but the decision to make wholesale changes in the club's football department came from left field. Deputy chairman Keith Ward and former justice Tricia Kavanagh - appointed to conduct an external investigation on behalf of the club into the allegations arising out of the ASADA investigation - fronted a press conference in which they announced management failures had prompted the decision to make the culls. Football manager Darren Mooney and trainer Mark Noakes were sacked while physiotherapist Konrad Schultz was told his services were no longer required. Flanagan's assistant Peter Sharp was given the job of coaching the side against the Gold Coast Titans on Sunday. Ward insisted no players would be stood down unless it was done by ASADA - as many as 14 members of the squad are under investigation and have been offered the opportunity to accept six-month bans rather than risk two-year suspensions. Ward revealed Kavanagh's investigation had revealed management failings which prompted yesterday's decisions. He also revealed a further report was being undertaken which would encompass the work of the board of directors. "During that review it became apparent there were two sets of issues," Ward said. There were some issues that were investigated in terms of ASADA. To be frank we decided to leave those issues to ASADA to investigate as we became aware of some management failings. Kavanagh added: "The other revelation was how management managed the circumstances throughout this period and questions of management accountability became central."