Well respected assistant coach John Blakey will leave the Lions’ den after four years, having accepted a similar position with the Sydney Swans.Blakey informed the Lions of his intentions this afternoon, and he leaves with the club’s blessing.“If I want to further my coaching aspirations, which I do, then it was time to move on after four years,” Blakey said. “The opportunity was far too good to knock back.”Blakey added that he was eternally grateful to the Lions for giving him an opportunity immediately after he had retired at the end of 2002 after 359 games with Fitzroy and the Kangaroos.“The Lions have been a fantastic club to come to – they have been very much at the cutting edge and working with Leigh Matthews has helped me so much,” he said. “It has been essential to my development.”Blakey worked his way up to be senior coach Matthews’ right-hand man in the coaches box over the past two years.When Matthews suffered a family bereavement in Round 18 of 2005, it was Blakey who was handed the reigns when the Lions took on the Western Bulldogs at Telstra Dome.Blakey also oversaw much of the pre-Christmas preparation over the last two years.He said the decision to move south was made to gain another perspective after having spent all his coaching career at the one club.Brisbane Lions football manager Graeme Allan said Blakey left with the club’s best wishes.“John has been an important part of our club for a number of years and while are sorry to see him leave, we understand his aspirations,” Allan said.“We wish John and his family all the very best for the future and with his ambition to one day become a senior coach.”Blakey will attend tomorrow night’s Lions club champion dinner and presentation night, then hopes to be settled in Sydney before the Swans’ pre-season begins in eight weeks’ time.