Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge revealed that he had been approached by a rival club after contract talks with club president Peter Gordon had been put on hold.

The premiership coach admitted he rejected an offer from the unnamed club following an offer midway through last season, a time where Beveridge admitted his future with the Bulldogs seemed uncertain.

“Within our own club, I felt vulnerable,’’ Beveridge told The Herald Sun. 

“I felt vulnerable as far as job security goes.

“And I knew the competition had changed and I knew there was a little bit of demand for coaches at other clubs.

“But I only wanted to coach the Bulldogs."

Several clubs saw a major change in the coaches box in 2019, with Victorian clubs St Kilda, North Melbourne and Carlton all appointing new coaches while Essendon underwent new structural plans for the future.

The Saints were heavily linked to Beveridge's signature before appointing Brett Ratten as senior coach in September.

Beveridge holds strong ties with the Saints, having featured in 45 games for the club during his playing career while his father, John, served as a recruiting boss. Beveridge had also accepted a role with St Kilda as head of football prior to his appointment as Bulldogs coach in 2014.

“I don’t want to talk about who it was from,’’ Beveridge said.

“It didn’t shock me and I don’t want that to sound egotistical at all, but based on what the market was — and to seek out your interest and maybe even give you a guarantee that if you’re willing to come over, there’s every chance there is a role there — what it did was allow the Bulldogs and I to sit down and talk more seriously about my future and the future direction of the club.’’

The unnamed clubs approach managed to speed-up contract talks between Beveridge and Gordon in Noosa during the bye round period after discussions were originally meant to be held off until the end of last year.

Four weeks after the unknown clubs approach was made, Gordon and Beveridge came to an agreement on an extension that saw the Dogs coach sign until the end of the 2023 season.

During the midway point of the season, finals football looked an uncertainty before the Bulldogs won eight of their last 11 matches to book a place in September.

Beveridge's side fell to the Giants in the first round of the finals, ending their 2019 campaign.

While the club saw no finals success for the third straight season, the year was deemed a success as a return to the top eight lifted the spirits around the club.

The halfway point of 2019, however, caused concern around Whitten Oval and Beveridge admitted he thought his future at the club was no certainty.

“Peter was terrific, he said there shouldn’t be any doubt about your future and I said to him it doesn’t seem like the right time to nail anything down,’’ the coach said.

“We were 4-7 and I wasn’t comfortable in doing anything and he felt the same way.

“But with what was happening with the coaching ranks, it brought it to a head a bit earlier.’

“I was really grateful Peter and the club saw fit to sign me up for a longer term when we hadn’t won eight of the last 11 yet.”

Beveridge soon noted the rival club's approach to Gordon and admitted he would have understood the Bulldogs decision to seek an alternative in the coaches box with 18 months left on his contract.

However, Beveridge's heart remained with the Bulldogs.

“I told him I didn’t want to coach anywhere else, but I don’t want to have to deal with the running conversations and uncertainty,’’ he said.

“I did say to him it’s the club’s opportunity, if you’re thinking differently, to get out if you want to.

“It’s a two-way street and that wasn’t in their thinking, so we signed it pretty quickly.’’