St Kilda in search for 'new voice' as coach Alan Richardson steps down
St Kilda head coach Alan Richardson steps down 'effective immediately' after six years at the club Coach Alan Richardson has parted ways with St Kilda after five-and-a-half mostly unsuccessful years at the helm of the AFL club The club released a statement saying that Richardson, "has stepped down effective immediately " St Kilda president Andrew Bassat said the club needed "a new voice". "Alan brought great integrity, knowledge and experience to our football program, and under his leadership the foundation for future success has been laid," Bassat said "He inherited his role at a difficult point in the club's history, developed the young players now beginning to make their mark, took the club to the cusp of two finals appearances, and in recent times showed great resilience in the face of adversity "Alan's selflessness and focus on what is right for the playing group and club has always been immense, but it's perhaps been best demonstrated in the past two days through his decision to step aside and allow the club the time and space to find the next coach Bassat noted that the St Kilda's difficult injury situation — the club currently has 14 players on the injury list — made Richardson's job difficult, but that the club was not "where it needs to be " "There is no escaping the significant setbacks we have faced this year in regards to player availability, and these, as you would expect, have been taken into account in our decision "On behalf of everyone at the football club, from the board to the players, staff and supporters, I want to thank Alan for his commitment and contribution " The Saints are in 15th spot on the AFL ladder, having won just six matches so far this season Current assistant coach Brett Ratten has been appointed temporary head coach until the end of the season, as the club emphasised there were no candidates in mind for the role "Speculation the club has a pre-determined position on potential candidates should be completely disregarded," Bassat said "I cannot overstate the value everyone at the football club places in strong governance, and any suggestion otherwise is simply unfounded "As our members would expect, we will be incredibly thorough and open-minded as we search for the right senior coach to lead us to a second premiership " Richardson has coached the Saints since 2014, but has never made the finals in any of his almost six seasons at the helm The Saints won 12 games in Richardson's third season in charge when they finished in ninth spot, backing up with 11 wins the following season, resulting in an 11th-placed finish However, the Saints have only won a total of 10 games since, regressing back towards the bottom of the table In Richardson's 126 matches in charge — second most of any St Kilda coach — the Saints have won just 43 games Richardson, 54, who was out of contract at the end of the season, is the third AFL coach to leave his post in 2019, after North Melbourne parted ways with Brad Scott and Brendon Bolton was sacked by Carlton Contact Simon Smale
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