INTERIM St Kilda coach Brett Ratten expects to know whether he has landed the top job at Moorabbin within the next 10 days.
Ratten was in charge of the Saints for the final time in 2019 on Saturday afternoon as he watched his side fall to a disappointing 45-point loss to Sydney at the SCG.
SWANS GO OUT WITH A BANG Full match coverage and stats
It means Ratten finishes his six-game stint at the Saints with a reasonable 3-3 record and he hopes that’s enough to win the job on a full-time basis in 2020.
"It will happen within 7-10 days," Ratten said when asked about when he expects to learn his coaching fate.
"A decision will be made, good, bad or indifferent and I will have to put my tail between my legs or I will have a big smile on my face.
"I have really enjoyed the six weeks and I enjoy the spirit of the football club, so what I do hopefully look forward to is the opportunity."
Ratten believes the future is bright for the Saints and said a return to the finals won't be far away if the club can have a successful upcoming NAB AFL Trade Period.
"We haven’t played brilliant footy this year and we still won nine games of footy," Ratten noted.
"We had a lot of players out, went through a lot of adversity so there is some upside to this team.
"You can look at (Hunter) Clark and (Rowan) Marshall and these types who really took the next step and started to make a name for themselves.
"They are only young men and if we can add some talent around them, this group could move a bit quicker than people think."
And if Ratten is lucky enough to win the job on a full-time basis he knows exactly where his players must improve if they want to take that next step and become a regular participant in the post-season.
"Our skill level is not at the level that is needed and that is something that is going to have to change whether I am the coach or not," Ratten said.
"If we don’t improve in that space, our players can't play here and we have to get players that can play in that space and develop or we have to recruit them into our footy club."
