Alan Richardson’s job as St Kilda coach has come under scrutiny from the outside after a big loss to the Lions, but David King feels those on the inside have already made their decision.
King feels it’s only a matter of time until ex-North Melbourne coach Brad Scott replaces Richardson in the role at Moorabbin.
“I think it’s incredibly difficult for him to keep the faith of the group. As a player, you know when his message has lost total 100 per cent support from the football club and it has, there’s no other way of looking at it,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“You can pick apart players, you can pick apart styles and all those sorts of things, but all the talk is about winning a final. It’s an incredibly difficult trigger for the next year of contract.
“I think the trigger really is for Alan to win 12 games or less and for Brad Scott to reach his trigger and come and take control and come and be the coach.
“I think that was likely to happen the moment he walked from North Melbourne. They said they were going down a different path and a different direction to the Kangaroos, that’s the way you walk. There’s no other option but to move the coach on at that point.
“Now there’s Carlton and there’s St Kilda on the radar. I’d be staggered if he wasn’t coaching St Kilda next year.
“That’s where I sit and I think it’s a really difficult position for Alan Richardson to be in. I think it’s an unfair position. I think they’ve made their mind up, it’s just a matter of the weeks ticking by.
“The players would know that. This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”
King doesn’t feel it’s particularly fair on Richardson, who coming into the weekend had the Saints at a 50-50 win-loss ratio.
However, he’s not sure the coach sees out the 2019 season regardless, based on Saints football boss Simon Lethlean’s comments yesterday.
“There is only one action really – and it’s an unfair action at six and seven, but they know Alan Richardson. They’ve had him there for six years,” King said.
“I think to place the judgment on the next short term period, whether it be Round 17 or 18 you make your decision, the next bad loss, the next bad quarter?
“I mean, they couldn’t wait to talk about that quarter yesterday. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a hierarchy of a club want to come out and openly want to discuss how bad the quarter was and then what the KPIs are from there.
“He was hardly pressed on the 3AW interview, Simon Lethlean. He’d come on to make those comments.
“So I think he’s a really terrible position, Alan, going into the club today. Where to from here? I can’t see it getting better.”
Lethlean said yesterday if the club keeps improving and if they start beating teams higher on the ladder, Richardson will remain St Kilda coach.
They take on Richmond at Marvel Stadium this weekend.