JAMES Hird's return to Essendon will be coming "sooner rather than later" according to Lindsay Tanner, with the Bombers chairman saying the doors are open for the former champion. 

Hird has barely had any involvement with the club since he left the senior coaching role at the end of 2015. 

The 1996 Brownlow medallist's time at the helm was tumultuous after he was in charge when 34 players received doping bans. 

He recently attended a coterie group function and Tanner told ABC Radio on Saturday Hird's comeback to the Bombers would come when he overcame his mental demons. 

In January, Hird was taken to hospital after he overdosed on sleeping pills. He has since said he was dealing with deep clinical depression. 

"Early on in my time as president, I certainly made it plain to the AFL that it was my intention to do everything I could to foster that (Hird's return)," Tanner said.

"But these things, you've got to allow a bit of time. There's a healing process that's got to be allowed to occur naturally and the last thing I'm sure James wants, and certainly I don't want, is some sort of fake Hollywood razzle dazzle media circus exercise, so these things need to be dealt with in a low-key and careful way. 

"I'm very confident that we'll see James back in the fold in some form, sooner rather than later. 

"From everything that I can discern, his situation's sort of improving and it's great that he's already had that involvement with the coterie group function, for example." 

Tanner said Hird could come back whenever he wanted. 

"It was great to see that James attended a coterie group event and has obviously been in contact with a number of people at the club," Tanner said. 

"But it's important from our point of view, he's obviously welcome at any time and there's still enormous emotional warmth for James right throughout the club but he's had his own issues to deal with. 

"We don't want to intrude in that or put undue pressure on him, so that's an evolving story, but I'm very confident that as time passes, you'll see those sort of difficulties fade away." 

Meanwhile, Tanner predicted a strong profit would help reduce the club's sizeable debt.

"The organisational impact, we're well advanced in dealing with. We've got a significant debt but we'll make a pretty strong profit this year and that will wipe out a chunk of that debt," Tanner said.