ST KILDA coach Alan Richardson has caught up with incoming president Andrew Bassat for the first time since last week's handover.  

While Bassat won't officially take the reins until December's annual general meeting, he symbolically took control when he fronted a joint press conference last week alongside outgoing president Peter Summers.  

The Saints confirmed to AFL.com.au that Richardson met for coffee with the president-designate at a Moorabbin cafe on Monday morning.  

While it's not known what was discussed, it is a sign of 'business as usual' at St Kilda despite a weekend of rumblings within the industry about the Richardson's future.

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Richardson told Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Monday night that Bassat had some good ideas for the future and it was a positive discussion.

"He's incredibly enthusiastic, certainly supportive, wanting us to improve and he's going to be a fairly challenging chairman, that's my take and I think that's good for our club," Richardson said.

It followed Bassat's less-than-convincing attempt to shut down speculation about Richardson's future when he said it was "highly unlikely" there'd be any change in senior coach for 2019.

It's believed Bassat now wishes he had been more emphatic, which Richardson addressed.

"He did [call] and just wanted to follow up that it didn't quite come out the way [he wanted]. He was quite apologetic about some of the way that was reported," he said.

"He seems like he's going to be a beauty, we're quite excited about having such a successful person involved at our footy club."

Speculation of a board meeting on Monday didn't amount to anything at the time of writing, with the informal catch-up between Bassat and Richardson seen simply as an opportunity for the pair ensure they're both on the same page in the coming weeks.

Richardson has coached 110 games at St Kilda for 37 wins, 71 losses and two draws. The team has failed to reach the finals in his five-year tenure.  

The 53-year-old remains contracted for next season, but will be joined by a new-look coaching panel.

Former Blues coach Brett Ratten is set to join the Saints after Hawthorn's finals campaign ends, but his exact position in the coaches' box hasn't been announced.