MICK Malthouse's daughter, Dani Kearney, has painted a picture of her father as a man with great humour and love and accused the media of telling "non-truths" about him.

In an extraordinary tribute to her father on Malthouse's website, Kearney says her family is often frustrated by the Collingwood coach's silence in response to gossip and lies.

She says that her dad has been in the football spotlight for 32 years and there were many times when she wanted to publicly defend him "for the non-truths being told".

"However I was always taught to ignore it and rise above the critics, that he only wanted to focus on the team and that the public would work out the truths from the stories in their own time," she says.

"I know dad still stands by this (I must admit the fact that he doesn't defend himself does drive myself and the family crazy at times!) So without insulting anyone, I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to my dad for the person he is."

Kearney says Malthouse is a "strong, loving, caring, loyal and hard-working" man who taught her right from wrong and encouraged her to be the very best at all that she did.

"The man that may not have always been present in the physical sense due to his commitments to football, but was still always there when I needed him," she says.

"He is the man who still makes me laugh more than any other (OK... on a par with my husband) and is also the one that found humour in embarrassing me at school by bringing my lunch into my class when I had left it at home…and I am talking high school!

"He is loyal and protective of me and gives unconditional love... I guess the only difference is that when he makes a mistake or there is speculation or controversy about him or even when he is successful, that the whole of Australia knows about it."

She says she has never heard Malthouse blame his players after a loss, "even at times when clearly they were the reason for the loss", and she is proud of him for this.

"The man that doesn't just coach but teaches and manages his boys. Mick has coached three teams now all of which were struggling at the time of his appointment, and has developed them into, dare I say it, very successful teams. (I, unlike some, do not always base success on a win/loss record but look at where the team and the individuals were at before he took over.)

"I have seen him take sides lacking a little in talent and polish, to be final contenders. There have been games when I have never seen him coach so well (knowing the adversity that the club at the time may have been going through) whereby he is absolutely exhausted afterward, only to lose and have to face the awaiting media.

"Maybe not always from lack of heart but simply because they lacked the talent of the opposition. To me Mick Malthouse is the best coach in the game and without disrespecting the other coaches of the AFL (as I know there are some very good coaches out there); I cannot foresee anyone replacing him of this stature for a long time to come.

"As his 28 years at the helm comes to an end, I hope that people will finally sit back and acknowledge what this man has achieved and done for the game of VFL/AFL. Who knows, someone may do a tribute to him yet."