• WADA announces appeal of Essendon's 'not guilty' verdict
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• AFL CEO hopes for only 'a couple of days of noise'
• Ten things you need to know about WADA's appeal

JAMES Hird says he is not worried about his own position in the wake of the World Anti-Doping Agency's decision to appeal the Essendon case, with his players backing him on Tuesday to continue as coach.

WADA confirmed it would appeal the findings that cleared 34 Bombers of using banned substances, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport announcing the process had been opened on Tuesday evening.

The CAS briefly published on its website the names of all 34 past and present Essendon players involved, an apparent breach of confidentiality protocols that the AFL Players Association said it would seek explanation on.

Those same players that are still with Essendon told Hird on Tuesday they wanted him as their coach.

"If they decide that I don't (have the right to coach them) then they'll tell me," Hird told Fox Footy.

"They've said to me today they want me to coach them harder and harder than I ever have before.

"I'm not worried about my own position. I'm trying to get these players in the right frame of mind that they can play, and that they're in the right frame of mind off the field.

"Me coaching yesterday to today hasn't changed one bit."

Hird said he had met with the Perth-based parents of some players before Saturday night's loss to Fremantle and the club still had a good relationship with the players' families.

He said the club was planning another information night for the families following the news WADA would appeal.

"There's no doubts the players' parents and the players have been very disappointed with what's happened, and they have the right to be disappointed," the coach said.

"But the club has worked very hard with the parents to explain what happened."