ADELAIDE V RICHMOND

WATCH LIVE ON WESTERN Bulldogs president Peter Gordon has backed Luke Beveridge to be the club’s long-term coach.

Beveridge comes out of contract at the end of next season and despite the team’s inconsistent form over the past three seasons, there is no talk at Whitten Oval of pressure mounting.

While Gordon says there is no rush to start talks on a new deal, the 2016 premiership coach is the right man to lead the emerging group.

“I expect him to not move and be coach of the Western Bulldogs for a very long time,” an emphatic Gordon said.

“He’s been a terrific coach for us, he’s got great relationships across the board, top to bottom, and I expect that he’ll be senior coach here for a lot longer than I’ll be president.

“We get on really well and I’m sure when, as both colleagues and friends, when it’s a suitable time for us to have that discussion we’ll do it.

“There’s no tension in the relationship or any pressure on that from his point of view or mine and I think that’s important to navigate a club through challenging times.”

The Bulldogs are 15th on the ladder but remain in the finals hunt, sitting two games and percentage outside the top eight. With wins over current top-eight sides Richmond and Brisbane, Gordon believes the Bulldogs can challenge the best teams while getting games into its youngsters.