Outgoing Essendon coach John Worsfold says he isn’t expecting any issues with the club’s coaching succession plan.
Current assistant Ben Rutten will take over as head coach in 2021, with the former Adelaide player and Richmond assistant set to take a more hands-on approach at the club next year in preparation.
Rutten joined the Bombers as an assistant at the start of 2019 and Worsfold said his drive to succeed stood out.
“I’ve really enjoyed having (Rutten) at the club, he’s a really motivated and driven young man,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“He’s been working hard to improve himself through his study and I think he’s going to do a wonderful job for the footy club but it’s going to be a massive change for him when he does step in as senior coach.
“We get the opportunity this year to expand his role as an assistant coach and let him know what’s taking place and hopefully have him way better prepared to step in as a senior coach than someone straight out of an assistant role."
Worsfold says he is fully committed to the succession plan, which was announced in September.
“Ben’s really excited about it and between us we’ve had a lot of discussions,” he said.
“They’ll be other things that come up (between us) and I’m excited about that. We’ve already set the platform for how we’re operating this pre-season and once the season gets closer, we’ll have a lot better idea of how we want things to operate.
“They’ll be certain things that I’m in charge of throughout the first part of the year and then they’ll be a gradual handover within the year so they’re the sort of things where we need to play it by ear and keep that open communication going."
Worsfold confirmed he remains in charge of the football program while Rutten will be more “hands on” with the gameplan.
Listen to John Worsfold's full chat on SEN Breakfast in the player below