NORTH Melbourne caretaker coach Darren Crocker says he’s not bothered by the prospect that Collingwood great Nathan Buckley is among a number of contenders canvassed for a position he desperately wants to keep.

Crocker was elevated to the interim role when Dean Laidley resigned three weeks ago, and said in his first press conference that he would use his time in charge to pursue the position permanently.

Club chairman James Brayshaw recently confirmed that he had met with Buckley’s management, while a number of Crocker's former teammates at North – including John Longmire, John Blakey and David King – have also been mooted as potential successors.

Buckley, who retired as a player at the end of 2007, has served as an assistant at the AIS/AFL Academy and coached Vic Country’s under-16 side to a 60-point victory on the weekend.

Crocker said he could not concern himself with the swelling media interest in Buckley or a decision that would ultimately be made by North Melbourne’s board.

“He's obviously got a fair bit of appeal to him with the elite player that he was, the elite preparer and the way he went about things,” Crocker told afl.com.au.

“He would be a real positive for any organisation to get hold of. What he would bring to this football club, I don't know, and whether it's the right ingredient for this football club, I can't really answer that question.

“For me, it's what I can provide this football club and provide the people here for the next 10 weeks, both from a staff perspective and a player perspective.”

Crocker admitted there was some risk in putting his hand up for the senior job, but said he had received a lot of support from Brayshaw, chief executive Eugene Arocca, chief of football Donald McDonald and other staff members.

“I wouldn't have been true to myself if I had have stood up and said senior coaching didn't interest me,” he said.

“It has been there in the back of my mind. Being installed into this position, it got pulled right to the forefront.”

Seeing friend Alastair Clarkson’s success at Hawthorn, Matthew Knights appointed by Essendon and Dean Bailey’s opportunity at Melbourne had encouraged Crocker to consider his own value.

Knights had played at Richmond for three of the five seasons Crocker spent there as an assistant to Danny Frawley.

“I started thinking to myself a couple of years ago, 'I have done a reasonable apprenticeship, and I think I'm reasonably well-equipped to coach senior football if ever the opportunity presented itself',” he said.

“And the fact that those guys have come in and have handled themselves as well as what they have, I thought there was no reason why I couldn't do the same.”

Crocker felt his resume was complemented by a range of experiences as coach of VFL club Port Melbourne in 1999, his apprenticeship under Frawley (2000-04) and four-and-a-half seasons as Laidley’s right-hand man (2005-09).

He ruled out applying for the vacant Richmond position, and said that even if Laidley had stayed, he would have honoured his contract with North until the end of 2010.