Gold Coast interim coach Steven King has thrown his support behind the Suns' efforts to entice three-time premiership coach Damien Hardwick to fill the role as senior coach after Stuart Dew was let go last month.
Suns CEO Mark Evans and chairman Bob East both flew to Italy, where Hardwick has been on holiday, to pitch their offer to the recently-departed ex-Richmond coaching great.
While acknowledging how "terrific" Hardwick would be for the club, King told reporters the playing group's focus is purely set on remaining fixated on finishing the season on a high note and seeing how close they can get to finals or even make it.
"Clearly the club would have an ideal candidate in place and if that's transpired, if Dimma's someone they've got an eye on, that's terrific for the club," King said, via AFL.com.au.
"A three-time premiership coach would be someone every club would love to have.
"For us, it doesn't really change.
"For the playing group, we've got motivation to finish the year really strongly. If the players can grab motivation knowing there's someone watching from afar and seeing how we go about it, that's great."
King has kept the Suns steady since the club parted ways with Dew, with two wins and two losses - a run highlighted by claiming the big scalps of St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions. This weekend is a 'do or die' clash for the Suns if they are wanting to make finals, with a loss eliminating them from contention.
However, whatever the result may be, King spoke about how grateful he is to have been named as the interim coach and has thoroughly enjoyed his time.
"I think you never really know what it's like until you've done it. The last month has been a challenge, but one I've found really comfortable doing," King stated.
"I've got ambitions in the future, but I'm also really committed here and driving this group forward.
"Whatever that looks like in the future, I'm really happy to play my role being an assistant coach and moving forward with our young group.
"I'm sure Damien (Hardwick) is sitting back, if that was the case, or the new coach, whoever that may be, and is looking at our group thinking 'we've got a really good footy department here'."
Gold Coast face off against the Sydney Swans at the SCG on Saturday, 1:15 pm local time.
