NEW WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says the club has to pick itself up after a tumultuous October.
Beveridge, 44, was announced as coach on Friday, replacing Brendan McCartney, who resigned last month one day after 2014 captain Ryan Griffen left for Greater Western Sydney.
He acknowledged that the public perception had been of a club in crisis, but his focus now was on the future.
"It's important that straight away, all the players and the coaches and the supporters and the administration feel like, 'Righto, we've got to pick ourselves up and get moving really quickly'," Beveridge said.
He said he hoped to appoint a new captain relatively quickly and that it did not matter whether the skipper was only in the job for a short time.
"My philosophy is that you have to appoint the person who is right for it at the time. If it is for one year, that is OK, as long as they're the right person."
Beveridge said a sense of nostalgia had attracted him to the Bulldogs, for whom he played 31 games for in 1994 and 1995 during a career that spanned 118 games over three clubs.
He said the club had always had a homely feel to it, holding values similar to his own that centred on the importance of family and culture.
Beveridge won three premierships as a coach in the Victorian Amateur Football Association before working as an assistant at Collingwood and Hawthorn.
He said his coaching style had evolved over the years.
"[My style] went from being very adventurous when it first started to a bit more rounded, so I suppose I consider myself as a coach that adapts my style and my planning to my playing group and their capabilities."
Beveridge said he would keep the existing coaching group on board and the club would discuss whether any further appointments were necessary.
He became the Bulldogs' No.1 candidate this week after he formally presented to the club's coach selection committee on Tuesday, despite being due to take up a position at St Kilda as director of coaching.
Bulldogs assistant Brett Montgomery was an early favourite for the job, but was told on Thursday that his application had been unsuccessful.
Football director Chris Grant headed up the club's coach selection panel, which also included chief executive Simon Garlick, football manager Graham Lowe, former club captain Darcy, and former West Coast coach John Worsfold.
"He's building a fantastic reputation in the industry," Garlick said.
"Most importantly, he's been a key player in driving successful cultures," he added, pointing to the two AFL premierships at Hawthorn and one at Collingwood that Beveridge helped engineer.
"He has the ability to make tough decisions when required, and clearly articulate what he stands for and what's in the best interests of the club."
Senior Bulldogs players will return to the club on Monday to begin their pre-season.
