CHIEF executive Peter Jackson has already sold genuine hope to the red and blue faithful, according to coach Neil Craig.
Craig said Jackson had been “selling good messages” and not “false hope” to the Melbourne supporters since he joined the club.
“Our supporter group would be probably a bit sick of what they might term ‘false hope’, where you start a role and it falls away,” he said.
“I think Peter’s been responsible with that, but in the end, we all get judged by our actions about what we do and not what we say. But initially we’ve got to paint the vision, which I think Peter is doing, about where it can go.
“We talk about the vision a lot with our playing group a lot, about where they can go and where they will go and it’s important. The most important thing though is that it’s got to be underpinned by ‘why?’”
Speaking about his coaching future, Craig reiterated that he would continue to give his absolute all to the role for the remaining four matches and then see how the process unfolds.
“My commitment to the Melbourne footy club, in this particular role, was for 11 weeks – to the playing group, to Peter Jackson, the coaches and staff. [I said] that I’d do that to my utmost ability and coach really hard, rather than just get the team through,” he said.
“I continue to be good for my word and I will be good for my word on that in the next four weeks.
“Hopefully by that time, but if not, shortly after that, I would think that the club would have some idea of the type of coach that it’s looking for and the qualities that’s required.
“At that stage, if I fit that profile or have some qualities that fit that profile, my mind will start to think ‘ok, well, now you really need to start to really think about, do you really want to do this?’”
Craig said discussions about his coaching future would be a “two-way process”.
“It won’t just be ‘do you want to coach the Melbourne Football Club? [I wouldn’t just say] ‘Oh yes, thank you’. No [it wouldn’t work like that]. Having been an AFL coach for seven years, I’ve got some things I need and a picture in my head about what’s required as well,” he said.
“What I do know about the position is that it is going to be about turnaround leadership and it’s not going to be for the fainthearted or the impatient person – there’s a lot of work to be done at this football club.
“It’s exciting work and I can certainly see light at the end of the tunnel with the talent we’ve got and the attitude of the group in general, but it’s going to be a tough job. Whoever gets it will need to have a passion to be a senior coach and a passion to coach the Melbourne footy club.”