Former Brisbane Lions coach Michael Voss believes he was ill-prepared to be a senior coach when he took on the Lions job in 2009, but that he would be much better equipped if he was afforded the opportunity again.
The club legend was thrust into the top job just two years after he retired from the game, but after leading Brisbane to the finals in his first season, he went on to win just 29 game in the next four seasons and was sacked with three games remaining in 2013.
Voss told SEN Breakfast that his initial foray into the coaching world was tough, but he is now better for the experience.
“Most people would think yes on that,” he said about being a better coach second time around.
“The experience that you go into next time is completely different. In a lot of ways, my first go at it was making stuff up as you go, which was a pretty hard way to learn.
“When you get the chance to be able to step away from that and work on the things that you need to get right, you’re always going to be a bit healthier second time around.”
Despite talk of a return to the top job somewhere down the track, the 1996 Brownlow Medallist says that he is currently focused on achieving success with Port Adelaide.
“It’s the furthest thing from my mind, to be honest with you,” he said about coaching again.
“I think we’ve had such a healthy start to the season with Port and how we are going as a footy team. It would be really nice to be able to have a really strong season with this team and figure in some finals football.”
Port Adelaide takes on Geelong at Simonds Stadium tomorrow night, but will be missing star midfielder Chad Wingard, who is expected to be sidelined for a fortnight with a calf strain.