FOR ROSS Lyon – or 'Ross from Reservoir', as he twice describes himself in an hour-long interview – the anxiety, nervousness, sleep deprivation, pressure, distraction and self-doubt has returned.

Weirdly, he loves those feelings and situations, wants more of them, reinvigorated by the stresses and the unknown of not just coaching in the AFL, but being in charge of what he has grown to know as his one true football love: the St Kilda Football Club.

Just 20 weeks have passed since Lyon walked back into the Saints' Moorabbin base, 11 years after he and the club parted in a halo of hurt. Lyon feels repaired. Now he desperately wants his regularly broken club to feel the same.

"It's not easy, senior coaching, it is a big decision and I know what it entails, and by virtue of the fact there has been change means there has been turmoil and there is some healing to occur," Lyon said. "You walk into something that needs building, how much we don't know."

In a 60-minute interview with AFL.com.au last week, a raw and open Lyon went seemingly everywhere, volunteering lessons learnt from his school days at Lakeside High School Reservoir – "We had a 10 per cent pass rate, very multicultural, best mates Lebanese and Greek" – to his experiences the first time round as Saints coach – "I was the accidental coach … I was really just Ross from Reservoir and I was really combative" – to the perception he once burnt through assistant coaches – "I certainly bowled a few over on the way".

Then there was a typically Ross response to a question about carrying regret. "No," he said. "It's life." Then he went into some reflections which placed Buddhism as the "first psychologists". He continued: "Life is trauma, right? Life is a struggle, and embracing that and understanding that. Acknowledgment of everything. There is death." But with this rider: "I'm certainly not religious."

So there won't be any praying to the biblical saints as part of his plans to get the football Saints back into the clouds, just old-fashioned hard work and nous gleaned from nearly 40 years in the game as a player and coach.

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Lyon is arguably as blunt as any figure the AFL has known. To him, cute words and fake actions serve no point. He knows this has caused problems during his time in football. It may have taken most of his 56 years, but he indicates that he now knows that his in-built mechanisms to simply move on mostly unscathed from volatile situations and moments can be in contrast with many others.

"As I said, I don't have any regrets, except to say I would like to do things better and differently," he said. "And I want to do it this time with a team of coaches, and bring people on the journey with me, get a greater satisfaction in that there has been enjoyment in the process for everyone."

Which is good news for his current coaching off-siders – St Kilda greats Lenny Hayes, Robert Harvey and Brendon Goddard, and ex-Geelong champion Corey Enright among them – in the Lyon 3.0 phase of AFL coaching.

Before the 3.0 phase, there was 1.0 (St Kilda, 2007-11) and 2.0 (Fremantle, 2012-19). Professional heartache and heartbreak at both clubs. Consecutive seasons with the Saints which resulted in losing Grand Finals. In 2009, when the final siren sounded after an epic match against Geelong, the Saints were just six points behind, before a Cats' goal post-siren. In 2010, the Saints tied with Collingwood before being blown away the following week. In 2013, the Dockers kicked woefully in the first half for just one goal at half-time before losing by just 15 points.

"Ken Sheldon has said to me I'm the only coach to be in front in time-on of two Grand Finals who hasn't got a cup," Lyon said. "Could I have done things differently? Yeah, maybe. Make some moves? Yeah. But I can't … Should we have kicked straight? We were 37 entries to 15 half-time in '09, so …

"If that is all I am defined by in life, well, I think you have to live life by your mantra, and results are limiting. Don't let them define you. Let them be feedback. If you start with results, they are limiting. Life is about continuous improvement and getting better."

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Back to Ross 1.0. Asked how we would snapshot that time of his life, Lyon said:

"'07, I stuffed it up, I was focusing on results, there was huge pressure, there was a disconnect with the club, I wasn't playing to the players' strengths. Shifted the dynamic, let go of results. Went to a prelim in '08, got smacked by Hawthorn, but we got connected, got strong. We went 20-2 (in 2009) and agonisingly close against a great team. Then 2010. There were incidents around the club, and we were protecting IP. It was quite fierce. We really were an intense, driven group. I was. I think because I stuffed it up so much once you got to the next match, every week was like a Grand Final. I probably could have eased off a bit. We'd be 15 goals up, and someone would kick a goal, and it was, 'Ohhhhh'!"

Of Ross 2.0, Lyon said:

"Learnt what I was about, and the dynamic. Obviously a tumultuous decision. A life-changing decision. Ideally one I wouldn't have to make, but I made it. And it was the right decision. And everyone can make their own decision if it was the right decision for St Kilda or not."

Pushed on that answer, Lyon said: "Probably history tells you 'no'. I don't think it is anything to do with me, but the biggest regret is I didn't get to help. They were still a top-four team when I left, that list. I reckon the players and I would've finished together, those champion players. Bit of regret.

"Then I went to Fremantle, and it was fierce over there. Gee, it was fierce. Actually more expectation than St Kilda, if you can get your head around that. In all honesty, you have the self-doubt. I was fortunate to have some champions that I didn't realise were there. And then the model works, right? Culture, trademark, letting go results. It was very driven over there and we became like a machine too.

"There's some regrets there, on management, could have been smarter. But we couldn't have done any more, then fell off the cliff. But we did a lot right with the drafting as part of the rebuild."

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And now Ross 3.0. How long will it take to get St Kilda back up the ladder, after the stints in the coaching chair by Scott Watters, Alan Richardson and Brett Ratten?

"I have never done that (put a timeframe on improvement)," Lyon said. "We have got work to do. We finished 10th and 10th. We have got a list where we need to develop some talls to support Rowan Marshall and Max King. We've got some really tough insiders, we need more leg speed and skill on the outside, so really simply, build capability.

"We've got (Marcus) Windhager and (Mitch) Owens, (Mattaes) Phillipou is really exciting. But by virtue of a path we went down as a club to become competitive, and not really go to the draft for three or four years, it has put the list under some pressure.

"But it is debatable where we are at and I am going to do my best to find out, and maximise our capability.

"Everyone wants to talk about our list, but that is a probability mindset, and I am a possibility mindset. If it was all about the list, I wouldn't have walked through the door."

In 2021, Carlton approached Lyon to be its coach, Essendon did so last year. "Brad (Scott) is perfect for them, and there was a really strong push for (James) Hird," Lyon said. "It was all a bit too confusing for me."

So, why then, has he ended up back at St Kilda?

"I never thought I would coach again, and I was picked up and parachuted in, that's really what happened," Lyon said.

"…it was about the St Kilda Football Club. It is not a story about me. People want to make it about me, but really, if I'm connected anywhere, it is St Kilda. You sit there, you've been emotionally connected, and I locked it away, so there has been some trauma release. It is a passion on footy, an opportunity on footy."

Ross from Reservoir. Back at St Kilda, for its 150th year.

"Who would've written that script, it's crazy, isn't it?" Lyon said. "We wish there were more (premiership) cups, and the cynics and scumbags out there will go to that.

"But for us at St Kilda, if you're in the St Kilda family, it is that bosom, isn't it? Life's a struggle, being a Saints supporter has been a struggle. We'll celebrate 150 years of Saints passion, members and fans, some great players and almost great teams. But we are here and not going anywhere and we are still hungry to win one."