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Neil Craig was sure he’d swatted away the AFL senior coaching bug for good, but he can feel its nibble again.
The 57-year-old, who led Adelaide to two preliminary finals over seven years, admits he might apply for the job at Melbourne beyond this season.
That will depend on how the next 11 games pan out, with Craig stepping in as caretaker coach after Mark Neeld’s sacking.
Craig also wants to be sure that the Demons have a clear idea of the sort of coach they want.
After Craig left Adelaide in 2011, he was insistent his senior coaching days were over.
Immediately after taking over from Neeld on Monday, he was reminded of the job’s rigours.
“The headaches, as early as yesterday, came back – the stress comes back pretty quickly,” he said.
Two priorities for Craig in the second half of this season will be to improve Melbourne’s woeful on-field performance and to convince senior players they should stay at the club.
“You want to have a culture that once you do attract talent … there’s an understanding you’ll develop,” he said.
“We have to pick the rope up a bit on that, clearly, because there’s a perception out there.
“We need continue to work and create an environment where word gets out or players feel – `no, no, I will develop in this environment and I can be the best I can possibly be’.
“That’s our responsibility … to generate that.”
Craig also fiercely defended Neeld’s performance in his 18 month-tenure at Melbourne.
“Please understand that Mark Neeld has done a fantastic job for this football club – he’s done some unbelievable groundwork,” he said.
“Sometimes you just have to be able to survive long enough in the industry to be able to see some of the really good work you do.
“We’ll never know that, of course.
“The legacy he’s left at this football club is very, very impressive.”
Craig said the players need care, but stressed they will be pushed to perform better.
“So we regroup, we continue to push the very high standards that Mark introduced to this football club … and maybe push them even higher and get an improvement in game-day performance, which our supporters are crying out for,” he said.
Craig, the director of sports performance at Melbourne before Neeld’s sacking, is contracted to the club until next year.
But he said that would hinge on the review of the football department that is now underway.
Craig made it clear he will not apply for the general manager of football operations role, currently held by Josh Mahoney.
“That’s not me – that’s not what I want in AFL football.
“Josh Mahoney is currently filling that role and he informed me this morning that I answer to him on a daily basis.
“And he was quite serious about that – he made that quite clear to me.”
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