North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson is unfazed going into the final year of his contract, saying he just needs a “handshake”.
As Clarkson comes towards the end of his fourth season in charge, North will spend a 10th-straight year without experiencing finals action.
Speculation has started to mount that Kangaroos hierarchy might consider letting Clarkson go at the end of his current five-year deal, signed in late 2022 in what was a massive coup for the club.
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Although North have improved this year, they are yet to beat a team above them on the ladder and will fall short of a wildcard berth.
“Old school” Clarkson won’t be pushing for a contract extension beyond 2027 this off-season and is happy to wait it out.
“All I require is a handshake and a wink and a nod, and that’ll do me,” the four-time Hawthorn premiership coach said on Tuesday.
Alastair Clarkson says he isn’t too concerned about his future at North. Credit: AAP
“We’ll work our way through whatever we need to do.
“I’m really here to serve the footy club … it’s not just me, but those that are in leadership positions at the club have done a really good job stabilising the footy club.
“We’re really keen to progress and get ourselves up the ladder, but all we do know is that that’s done best when you’ve got stability.”
Clarkson drew on examples of Brisbane Lions, Fremantle and Adelaide of clubs who were patient with their coaches and find themselves in powerful positions on the field.
“I’ve been in the caper for a long time, so that’s a bit of water off the ducks,” he said of speculation about his future.
“The best examples are the reigning premiers (Brisbane) who took a while to get going and then Adelaide with ‘Nicksy’ (Matthew Nicks) and Fremantle with Justin Longmuir.
“The governance and administration of the club just sticking to the path and sticking to the course, and we’re going to be no different.”
Clarkson’s record at North is 19-1-59, a far cry from his glory years with the Hawks.
The Kangaroos face a challenging run home, starting with the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
They have long losing streaks against the Bulldogs, and their final two opponents – Geelong and Sydney.
Clarkson bristled when asked how important it would be to beat one of those teams to finish off this season.
“You’re just searching, searching for a headline,” he said.
“Teams that have been in the bottom four or five on the ladder haven’t beaten the top teams very often in the last five or six years.
“That’s the reason why they’ve been in that position on the ladder.”
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