WEST Coast coach John Worsfold has ruled himself out of coaching Melbourne next year after the Demons sacked Worsfold's counterpart Mark Neeld on Monday.
Speculation surrounding Worsfold's future has followed the premiership coach after he put off contract talks with West Coast until season's end but he said he would not be a contender for the vacant job at Melbourne.
"Haven't thought about the Melbourne job being available," Worsfold said at his weekly media conference.
"Let's rule myself out. Let's do that."
Worsfold said he felt his name being linked to the Melbourne job after Mark Neeld's sacking was a "non-event" and he said he would stay the same course he had all year in regards to his future.
"The main thing I'm clear on is not whether I'll coach on here at the Eagles but that I'll talk about my contract at the end of the year," Worsfold said.
"That's what I'm looking forward to."
West Coast CEO Trevor Nisbett said Neeld's departure from Melbourne had no bearing on the club's approach to Worsfold's contract.
"It doesn't alter our strategy," Nisbett said in The West Australian on Tuesday.
Worsfold did have some compassion for Neeld's situation and felt the former Demons coach had handled himself impeccably through a very difficult time.
"I've felt for him for the last 18 months and spoken to him a few times to offer support," Worsfold said.
"I think we all know what he's been through and a lot of it is not of his own making and I think he's handled it fairly well.
"He'll enjoy a bit of a break before he decides which direction to throw himself back into," he said.
Worsfold's immediate concern was his side's clash with the ladder leaders Hawthorn on Friday night.
West Coast comes off the bye precariously placed at 6-5, with a tough stretch of games ahead that starts with the Hawks at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
Worsfold said his side's intensity needed to improve dramatically.
"The main thing we've got to do is play with our maximum intensity," Worsfold said.
"That's what we want to challenge ourselves to do consistently throughout the remainder of the year."
Hawthorn thumped West Coast by 50 points in their round two clash at Patersons Stadium earlier this year.
Worsfold was asked what his side had learnt from that loss.
"What you learn out of every game - what they did, how they moved the ball, what they did well, what tested us out, but we also learnt areas that we needed to keep improving on," he said.
"Those lessons, only a few of them carry on to the next time that you play that opposition.
"Most of them you're working on immediately after that game and ongoing," he said.
