Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says he’s “blind” to the external criticism on him and speculation around his future, adamant he doesn’t feel he’s under the most pressure since joining the club.
The Bulldogs cancelled a training session on Tuesday so Beveridge could bring his players together at a Bayside beach, while the review of the shock seven-point loss to Hawthorn – the Dogs’ fourth defeat from their past five games – was delayed until Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Beveridge said he didn’t feel “any less or anymore” pressure, despite some external calls for a coaching change amid his side’s 3-5 start to the season.
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Beveridge said the number of people who’d reached out to him gave him an inkling he was the “centre of attention” this week, but stressed he was focused on showing his players and coaching staff he was in “the right place” to lead a Dogs turnaround.
“I’m probably blind or oblivious to it (the external criticism) a little bit. What I do notice is how many supportive and great people come my way to express their care and their love sometimes, and I think it’s during times like these where you appreciate the goodness of people,” he said.
“If you have an optimistic outlook all the time, it means that you make better decisions, more considered decisions, the collaborative environment is strong and you don’t get cluttered or worried about things that don’t matter.
“I don’t tend to worry about it too much these days … There were probably periods when I was in the infancy of my senior coaching life where I was agitated a little bit more than I get these days. So it’s just really important that I don’t pay much attention to that. The opinions and the scrutiny of what I do within the football club is most important to me.”
Beveridge said he’d felt great support from inside the Bulldogs, including from president Kyle Watson-Wheeler, chief executive Ameet Bains, new football boss Matthew Egan and the playing group. He said he was particularly moved during a phone conversation with injured forward Cody Weightman.
“‘Flea’ rang me and asked me how I was. He said: ‘When I was going through challenges with the scrutiny around the head-high tackles and all that, I can remember the conversations we had – and I just want to check in on you’ … That’s just an insight into what sort of a character Cody Weightman is,” Beveridge said.
“There’s been lots of that – and I love the fact that people want to do that – but I don’t necessarily need it. I say to my closest friends: ‘Don’t text me, don’t call me – I’m OK.’ But they’re always concerned.
“But ultimately I’m in a really good place and I’m really looking forward to this next challenge.”
Asked directly if he felt like he was coaching for his future at the moment, Beveridge said: “Look I’d rather just talk about (the game). I’m fine and ultimately, we’re in a good place. There’s a lot of the season to go and, believe it or not, we’ve got 17 games left before anyone is playing finals.
“As I’ve always been … I’m an absolute week-to-week coach. So all my focus is on Richmond this week.”
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However Beveridge conceded he’d “be telling porky pies if we said that the players weren’t affected by the outside noise”.
“Sometimes that can be confronting, so the critical thing in today’s day and age is that the players don’t come into the club feeling like they’re under the same kind of scrutiny as they are externally,” he said.
“This has got to be a safe place, somewhere that they can come and feel like they belong and work together – and that’s really evident. The players are really close, as much as we haven’t won as many games as we would’ve liked to at this stage of the year, their approach and commitment hasn’t wavered. So that’s all encouraging.
“I know they’ll set their minds Saturday night to do their absolute best and hopefully it’s enough.”
Beveridge said the number of Hawthorn goals his side conceded from defensive-half turnovers on Sunday was “a huge surprise” and “concerning”, adding he was hopeful his team would “tidy up” that area of the game against Richmond.
The playing future of champion midfielder Tom Liberatore is another dark cloud hanging over Whitten Oval, with the 31-year-old jogging on the sidelines during Thursday’s training session as he tries to recover from a fourth concussion in 22 games.
Beveridge said he was unsure of a report that suggested the AFL had taken over the management of Liberatore’s recovery.
“I haven’t had any news on that, but I know it takes them a while to convene those panels, so if that is the case, it remains to be seen when that may be,” he said.
“ (Liberatore has) come in (Thursday) morning – in regards to the concussion, I’m just totally leaving that to our medical professionals … I can’t really give an opinion on how he’s going. I ask him, he says he’s OK … we just hope he’s going to be fine.
“Great to see him here, and he will do his best to convince everyone that he’s going to be OK, but ultimately there’s more to play out.”
Beveridge said he was yet to decide on a possible recall for Caleb Daniel or No. 6 pick Ryley Sanders in Liberatore’s place but wanted the Bulldogs to be “well represented” at the coalface without their key ball winner.
— with NCA NewsWire
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