St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis optimistic about playing list and Saints’ future despite horror start to 2018

ST KILDA chief executive Matt Finnis hasn’t lost faith in the playing list or coach Alan Richardson despite the Saints’ horror start to the season, declaring the club will stay the course as it believes success isn’t too far away.

Pressure is mounting on fifth-year coach Alan Richardson.

ST KILDA chief executive Matt Finnis insists success is just around the corner despite the Saints’ disastrous start to 2018.

The club’s five-year plan had them playing finals this season but after nine games, the Saints find themselves third last and three and half games out of the eight.

With pressure mounting on fifth-year coach Alan Richardson, Finnis said the club would not abandon its strategy.

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“This is not a situation where you need to go back to the bottom and start again,” Finnis said.

“We’ve got foundations in our footy club (that) are a lot stronger now than they used to be and from that, we’ve got a nucleus of players with a coaching program, led by Alan Richardson, we are really confident that we will recapture some of that lost ground.

“We’re actually very optimistic about what the future holds for our footy club.”

The Saints play second-placed Richmond at the MCG on Saturday and president Peter Summers flamed the fire of speculation around the club when he spoke about the Saints’ predicament on weekend radio.

Pressure is mounting on fifth-year coach Alan Richardson.

“Peter was taking ownership for the fact that four and half years ago, the club put out a strategy which had our club, ideally, playing finals at the end of this year,” Finnis said.

“We’re not looking like a team that’s playing finals right now. That’s a reality.

“I think what Peter was doing, he wasn’t walking away from it, saying hey, this is what we did and we don’t apologise for that, but clearly we’re not playing footy that looks like that right now and we’re seeing that our fans are impatient about that and we recognise that.

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“Ultimately what Peter has is great confidence in the club and the people within it, the players, the coaches and the staff, to recaptured some of that lost ground so that we can in fact, draw upon the nucleus right there, to be the team that we want to be, in the not too distant future.

“You don’t go throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

“We’re currently in the focus of doing a lot of our strategic planning for … 2019-22, but what we believe is we’ve got a nucleus there.

St Kilda has won only one game this year. Picture: Getty

“You see what Jimmy Webster can do when he starts to get his form, combined with the confidence of the role he can play in our footy team.

“We’ve seen what Seb Ross is capable of doing. We’ve got young players coming in like Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield. Experienced heads like Jack Steven and Jake Carlisle.

“This is a team which is not playing to its capabilities right now and we’re optimistic that we can recover that form and that (we) will be a team that can compete, can contend over the coming years.”

Finnis said the club’s list management strategy was open.

“In terms of early picks, you’d love to have them, but at the end of the day last year, when it was that you’ve got high profile, top-end talent choosing to stay at their club, our strategy was let’s hang on to those picks, take seven and eight to the draft and get Hunter Clark and Nick Coffield and we’re better off,” he said.

The Saints had two top-10 picks in the draft last year after missing out on luring the likes of Josh Kelly and Dustin Martin. Picture: Michael Klein

“But ultimately if you can secure top end talent from outside your club to supplement the list you’ve already got, you’ve got to be able to be doing that.”

St Kildawill play its third annual Pride Game against Sydney at Etihad Stadium on June 9.

The theme of the game is I’ll Stand By You in tribute to the role played by family and other supporters in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) community.

Young Victorian of the Year Georgie Stone, an 18-year-old transgender woman, was yesterday announced as the game’s ambassador.

“Having my sporting team being so supportive of the LGBTIQ community is fantastic and I feel like now I can really enjoy the footy and go to matches and feel like I belong,” she said.

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Originally published as St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis optimistic about playing list and Saints’ future despite horror start to 2018