BRETT Ratten is back in the hot seat, but not much has changed for St Kilda's interim coach.

Almost seven years after he coached his last AFL game, Ratten guided the Saints to an impressive 27-point victory over the Bulldogs in his first match as the club's caretaker boss.

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St Kilda played with great intensity on its way to the exciting win, building the foundations for the victory with six unanswered goals in a thrilling 20-minute burst in the first term.

But for Ratten, the feeling of being the man in charge wouldn't have been altered regardless of the result, as the much-loved figure put his name back in the ring for a full-time position.

"It's pretty much the same," Ratten said of his return to coaching.

"I'm just seven years older, with a few more greys and a bit more weight.

"It's interesting. If you never challenge yourself to go to the top or put yourself in an awkward position – whether you're a player or a coach – you can never try to succeed.

"You might fail in the journey, but to put yourself out there … we've got to do that to try and have success as a person, as a player or as a club.

"From that point of view, I've really enjoyed the challenge. Whether we won or lost today, it was very enjoyable."

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Ratten, the third caretaker coach in the AFL this year behind Rhyce Shaw and David Teague, took over the St Kilda job after the club parted ways with Alan Richardson on Tuesday.

Speaking after the match, the former Carlton coach revealed Richardson had sent him a text on Sunday morning, hoping for the best from his former assistant.

"Richo sent me a text today, wishing me all the best," Ratten said.

"He's away at the moment, but it's just through circumstances that I get to sit in this position. I feel for him enormously, but footy is a brutal game.

"We've got to move forward and for the players to respond that way and execute the way they did, it was really pleasing."

WATCH Brett Ratten's full post-match media conference

With three vacant senior coaching positions currently available, Ratten did his chances of landing a full-time job no harm with his performance in the box on Sunday evening.

It was the first time he had been in the hot seat since 2012, when he departed Carlton after almost six years in charge with a 59-56-1 record and three successive finals appearances.

He subsequently moved to Hawthorn under Alastair Clarkson, where he was part of the club's three-peat, but revealed his last year with the Blues taught him the most lessons.

"I've been in the game for a long time," Ratten said.

"Through experiences, it helps shape you as a coach. Going through the successful periods and the non-successful periods, it helps create your story as a coach.

"How you adapt to that, that's probably the thing for me … I was very fortunate to be at the Hawks with Alastair Clarkson and to go through that period, which was amazing.

"But my greatest lesson is probably the last year of my coaching tenure at Carlton … I learnt so much from that period as well.

"There's no doubt, with maturity and more experience, it's helped me enormously."