TO all those who are calling for Graham Henry to resign as Wales coach, whether they be former players or fans, I would say one thing - forget it. It just won't happen.

For a start, he has said time and again in the past month that he won't go, he'll stay to see the job through and will continue to work his hardest and do his best to make sure it comes right for Wales again.

But in any case, even if the Welsh Rugby Union were of a mind to ask Henry, or simply tell him, to go they just can't afford to do it.

Just imagine the compensation they would have to come up with, and they would have to hire a replacement as well.

All at a time when the WRU are struggling for money - and it's getting worse. On the field defeat by Ireland has been followed by humiliation against Argentina.

Off it, the WRU already have to service a near £50m debt on the Millennium Stadium, and they are also grappling with having to pay the best part of the £1m it took to bring Iestyn Harris from rugby league to Wales.

They are paying Henry around £250,000 a year and his fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen is shortly to take up a post as assistant coach, joining Clive Griffiths as defence coach, both on salaries of around £75,000 a year.

And the WRU is not exactly awash with sponsorship money, the Welsh/Scottish League, for example, still lacking a backer, as is the Celtic League, which is highly embarrassing.

Struggling for money, the WRU could not afford to get rid of Henry whatever views they may have about his future.

The immediate one involves Tonga on Saturday, and the threatening figure of Australia a week Sunday, the world champions looking to avenge their defeat by England.

Whether Henry has lost the confidence of his players or whether they have lost faith in him are the more pressing problems to solve.

In football, a similar situation would have only one conclusion, the manager or coach being shown the door.

Fortunately, rugby is not in that knee-jerk situation, which is not to say that Henry should necessarily see it through to the end of the 2003 World Cup either.

I actually have some sympathy for him. A coach with his track record in New Zealand at Super 12 level, with his initial record with Wales of 10 successive victories and the euphoria which greeted that, can't suddenly become incompetent.

But clearly the criticism he took from some members of the British Lions tour party in the summer, notably Austin Healey, plus to some extent from Wales' Colin Charvis, appears to be having an effect.

In short, he is not quite viewed in the same way he was, and his powers do seem to be on the wane.

If that is the case, then the attitude of some players also appears to leave something to be desired. They are not exactly hungry and bursting with enthusiasm, and they do seem cocooned in a certain comfortable lifestyle.

Perhaps the arrival of Steve Hansen, another fresh face from New Zealand, also with a good track record, will have the galvanising effect needed because Welsh club results in the Heineken Cup and Celtic League do not offer much encouragement either.