Essendon coach Brad Scott has leapt to the defence of Adam Simpson, saying even the game's greatest ever coaches wouldn't be able to fix West Coast's current woes.
The Eagles slumped to an equal club-record ninth consecutive loss on Saturday night when the Bombers posted a 50-point win at Optus Stadium.
It came just six days after West Coast were pummelled to the tune of 116 points by lowly Hawthorn in Tasmania - the biggest loss of Simpson's 10-year reign at the Eagles.
West Coast were missing 10 of their best 15 players in that loss to Hawthorn, including stars such as Nic Naitanui, Jeremy McGovern, Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Jack Darling and Liam Ryan.
The Eagles, bolstered by the returns of Yeo, Shannon Hurn and Tom Barrass, showed far more fight against the Bombers, pushing Essendon for three quarters before fading late.
There were calls for Simpson to be sacked in the wake of the triple-figure loss to Hawthorn, but Scott says the 2018 premiership coach deserves more respect.
"West Coast are a really proud club. They've been a great club for a long period of time," Scott said.
"I get the pressure they're under. But I mean last week (against Hawthorn), don't worry about Adam Simpson - like Norm Smith, Kevin Sheedy, Mick Malthouse and Leigh Matthews couldn't have coached (a better result through) those injuries.
"I was just really surprised (by the backlash). I shouldn't be surprised because I've been around long enough to know.
"Everyone accepts the injuries, but then they won't say, 'Yeah, it (the poor result) is fair enough'.
"The scrutiny has been over the top in my view. You're talking about a premiership coach and the guy's taken the team to a grand final previously. I just find it (the backlash) a bit unsavoury."
Simpson said he appreciated Scott's support.
"It's a challenging industry and when you've won one game, it can get to you," Simpson said.
"But I'm holding up OK. That (the external criticism and rumours) is part of the job.
"I don't think there's a WhatsApp group for all the coaches that gives a bit of love, but I think there's respect for all of us."
Essendon's second win on the trot moved the Bombers (6-5) back into the top eight ahead of next Sunday's clash with North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium.
Scott coached the Kangaroos for nine-and-a-half years before parting ways midway through 2019, and the 47-year-old played down his upcoming return.
"It will be different, only because I know the players pretty well," Scott said.
"But it's funny, you look off-field and on-field and more have gone than are still there. Off-field, none of them are there.
"When you talk about the players and go through the list and see how many of them I actually coached, it's dwindling pretty quickly.
"So very quickly they've become a different team. Clearly, there's history there, but it'll count for nothing next week."
