Harvey has returned to the Saints after two years as an assistant at Carlton and said his time with the Blues had taught him how to be 'an outsider'.
He said there had to be a different dynamic with his former teammates.
The former Saints captain counted many of the current playing list as friends but was adamant that would not get in the way of his coaching duties.
"I obviously know a lot of the players but that won't stop me doing the job I have to do, and that's to get the best out of them," he said.
The Saints have played in three grand finals in the two years since Harvey retired from his playing duties but he says the hunger for premiership success is as strong as it has ever been.
"A few personnel have changed, certainly amongst the coaches there are a lot of big changes. The players are still the same driven bunch as they were when I left. They are still really hungry and I could see that when I left," he said.
"They've had a great two years, they've won a lot of games and I didn't get the chance to play in one. I think they are still really close and hopefully I can be a small part of being involved in that."
Harvey is of course not the only high-profile assistant coach returning to the club where he made his name as a player.
But unlike Essendon's Mark Thompson, who spoke to a packed media conference on Tuesday, Harvey has returned to St Kilda with surprisingly little fanfare.
He will oversee the midfield with fellow assistant and former teammate Steven King and says his apprenticeship at Carlton has opened his eyes to a world outside St Kilda, the place he called home for 21 years as a player.
"I can only speak from my experience. It has been greatly beneficial for me. I'm obviously not a senior coach but what I learnt from the early days at Carlton to take into this period at St Kilda has been great," he said.
"It's something you can't pick up (otherwise). I've learnt a lot and it was important for me to be able to get away and learn that."
