HE’S ONLY been in town two days and admits he knows little about the workings of Australian football clubs, but already former Australian cricket coach John Buchanan has offered some "constructive criticism" to Mark Williams and the Port Adelaide coaching committee.
Buchanan, who took Australian cricket to a new level during his reign, arrived in Adelaide on Saturday to look at how the coaches and players related to one another.
He oversaw the Power’s match day processes during Sunday's win over Adelaide and was also at Alberton on Monday to sit in on the club’s game review.
On Sunday, he observed the Port Adelaide coaching staff being "too negative" in the box and also in the rooms.
With the Showdown win cracking a five-match losing streak, coach Mark Williams is aware that yesterday's matchday experience may not have been typical.
“What you saw yesterday might not be the same as what you would see if we had won the last five games or were sitting at the top of the ladder,” Williams said.
“But his constructive criticism would be that, maybe, we were a bit negative sitting in the box and even in our review after the game.
“We won the game, we should be happy, but John thought we were a bit negative and trying to find too many things in regards to what went wrong rather than looking at the positives.”
Williams didn’t rule out Buchanan, or other high profile sporting people, returning to Alberton as the club aims for continued improvement both on and off the field.
“We’re always happy to take on some advice,” Williams said. "We look critically at what we do all the time and there were a couple of things John talked about, like the place of leadership, psychology and how players have to get themselves up for games rather than rely on outside influences.
“John speaks with a lot of authority and, obviously, has a lot of experience and success about him. You hang on a lot of the words he speaks and it was great for our assistant coaches and leadership group to meet with him.
“Hopefully, we can have a continuing association with him. I think he’s off to India tomorrow.
“He’s invited me over, but I’m not sure if I can spin on those wickets.”