Penn, whose family are the club's majority shareholders and finally gained control of the board last October, insists that no decision has been made on Toovey's future despite strong speculation linking Penrith assistant Trent Barrett to the position.

Barrett has been given leave by the Panthers to finalise talks with the Sea Eagles but Toovey told reporters on Thursday that the possibility of the 37-year-old Country Origin coach joining the club – either in an assistant's role or as his replacement – had never been discussed with him.

With Manly having won just three of their last 14 games – going back to round 26 last season – and sitting in last place before Friday night's match against Brisbane, Sea Eagles great Bob Fulton, who was recently appointed as strategic advisor, has been asked to help with a review of the club's football operations.

However, Penn said Manly was not a club that sacked coaches mid-season, while Fulton would want to ensure that his former premiership-winning captain does not leave on bad terms.

"Geoff is an absolute legend of the club so we have owed it to him to continue to try and get results on the field," Penn said. "The effort has absolutely been there the last four weeks and that obviously needs to continue but there has never been a deadline set, there has never been any ultimatums made.

"We are obviously keeping a watching brief and we have bought Bob in as an advisor but we are not looking to make any rash decisions. We are not a club that just axes people, we never have, that is not in our culture. I can't remember us axing a coach mid-season. Someone might have retired or moved on but that is not in the spirit of the Manly club and we want to retain those values. That is something that is important to us

"As we start to look at our plans for 2016 we are obviously already talking to Bob about structures and options but by no means is anything locked in."

Asked about Barrett, Penn said: "I haven't even spoken to Trent. I know that Bob has a close relationship with Trent from his Origin involvement and speaks highly of him".

Fairfax Media has also been told that no one from Manly has spoken to former Gold Coast coach John Cartwright, who is currently an assistant at North Queensland, and speculation about him taking over from Toovey as a caretaker coach for the remainder of this season appears wide of the mark.

However, it is believed that Barrett is planning to bring Cartwright as an assistant if he gets the job and there is a chance that Toovey may stand down before the end of the season or announce that he will not continue beyond this year.

As a loyal Manly servant since the beginning of his playing career in 1988 and a member of former coach Des Hasler's staff before taking over in 2012 after his departure for Canterbury, it is hard to imagine Toovey coaching anywhere else and the club may try to find another job for him.

But Penn said the Sea Eagles had not yet given up on this year and he hoped the decision by star halfback Daly Cherry-Evans to renege on his deal with Gold Coast and re-sign on an eight-year, $10 million deal would spark a mid-season revival.

"Rugby league is all about hope and hope that your team can win the premiership, and we pride ourselves on always being contenders," he said. "This year hasn't quite panned out the way we wanted it to thus far but I think with the announcement about Daly staying we are absolutely firmly back on the map as contenders.

"It is yet to be seen whether we can get the run that will get us home this year but I am hopeful that we can string a few wins together and see how we go. But I am very excited about 2016 and I know we will be incredibly competitive in 2016 and beyond."