Trent Barrett is facing the sack as the Penrith Panthers assistant coach following revelations he is taking the club’s star forward Lewis Brown with him to Manly next year.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Kiwi star Brown has signed a three-year contract at Brookvale next season to join a beefed up forward pack that includes Nate Myles and Darcy Lussick.

Barrett has signed as head coach at Manly but the appointment has yet to be made public out of respect to club legend Geoff Toovey, who still has the support of fans.

Irate supporters carried out a protest at Brookvale Oval against Toovey’s dismissal on Friday. Toovey has been the heart and soul of the club since emerging as a tiny but courageous star in 1988.

Barrett is on indefinite ‘gardening leave’ on full pay at Penrith but is expected to be moved on now that Brown’s signing has been made public.

“You can’t have a coach working for two clubs at once,” said one Panthers official, “It just doesn’t work like that in rugby league.

media_camera Lewis Brown is set to follow Barrett to Brookvale Oval.

“We’ve always said we’d never stand in the way of any of our assistant coaches getting an opportunity at another club but once it’s done, it can make things difficult.”

The $700,000-a-year signing of Origin forward Trent Merrin at Penrith next year was always going to put pressure on their salary cap and force players like Brown to look elsewhere.

There is now concern Barrett could be interested in some of the club’s younger players, hence the need for him to part company with the club, probably after tomorrow’s match against the Bulldogs.

As Ivan Cleary’s right-hand man, Barrett has intricate detail of all the Penrith player salaries and knows exactly when they are coming off contract.

The Panthers have the best junior nursery in the NRL

Barrett’s deal with Manly was done almost a fortnight ago with the Sea Eagles’ head of football Bob Fulton. No time frame was put on making the announcement.

It is understood Barrett was even involved in contract talks with the $10 million man Daly Cherry-Evans before he backflipped on the Gold Coast Titans.

Toovey is under contract until the end of next season and will demand a full payout.