Western Bulldogs footy boss Matthew Egan has no doubts that Luke Beveridge is the right man to lead the club forward.
The 2016 premiership coach has found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons this week, with many in the media pondering whether he should remain in the role after the Bulldogs lost to Hawthorn on Sunday, slumping to 3-5 on the season.
Egan has been blown away by how aggressive some of those comments have been in the media and thinks that some of those takes are directed at Beveridge on a personal level.
The footy boss says that Beveridge still has the fire to do the role 10 years into his tenure as he’s always looking to innovate and evolve as a coach.
“He sure does (have the fire),” Egan said on *SEN Mornings.
“He's an incredible coach Bevo, I’ve been blown away with how aggressive some of the comments have been in the media about a guy who's been coaching 10 years at the footy club with a Grand Final win and obviously being in the Grand Final only three years ago.
“It feels like it's been a little bit aggressive and personal against Bevo.
“He's an incredible coach. He's an innovator - you know when you're playing against Bulldogs, they're quite tricky to play. They're always looking to do things slightly different around the ball.
“He's always looking to change and look for new ways of winning and I feel like he's got a pretty good record.
“There'd be a lot of coaches out there who would take his record so far as a coach.
“He's definitely got the energy that's for sure.”
Egan has extensive history working in footy since retiring as a player having served as an assistant at Essendon before heading up the development program at Melbourne and Geelong.
The former defender says he’s never seen a coach connect as well to his players as Beveridge does despite reports in the media suggesting that’s not the case.
“I go to my experience of working in footy in the coaching industry for 16 years and I’ve never seen a coach connect as well as I have with Bevo with his players,” Egan said.
“His ability to storytell and create a narrative week to week with the players is amazing, but his attention to detail with how he connects one-on-one (is the best).
“Some clubs when they're talking to players who are in and out of the team, it can be done through messages or assistant coaches, but Bevo is highly detailed in this and it has to be through him because he wants to talk to players face to face and have the honesty.
“He's shown over the years that he's willing to have an honest chat and if players aren't performing, he's willing to trial younger players coming in.
“Nowadays young players want honesty, and he gives them the honesty that they need.
“He's definitely got a really strong connection not only with players but their families. He cares about individuals at a high depth, that I haven't seen before in a head coach.”
Egan also stated that it’s really important that the club sticks together and doesn’t make any rash decisions as they look ahead to this week’s fixture against Richmond.
“It's really important (that we stick together),” Egan said.
“Ameet and Kylie have been really strong about our support for Bevo on the club.
“I think we've got to remember, it's not just one person at the footy club.
“It's a group of coaches and staff who work really closely with the players day to day.
“We will hold together, we’ve had a positive week so far and we've seen some teams recently in this position and know we can turn it around.
“It's just making sure we look after the game this week, which is Richmond and not look too far ahead.”
The Dogs face the Tigers at the MCG on Saturday. The bounce for that game is set for 7:30 pm (AEST).
