Essendon coach Brad Scott has defended his West Coast counterpart Adam Simpson from growing pressure in the wake of the Eagles suffering their tenth loss of the season.
The Bombers ran out 50-point winners over the struggling Eagles on Saturday night, with the club's last five losses now coming by at least 45 points.
With just one win on the board and a long season ahead, there's been plenty of speculation of Simpson's future with the club in the wake of reports of a divided club board.
Speaking post game, Scott said that the focus on the Eagles had been "over the top", reminding pundits of Simpson's previous success with the club.
“Rightly or wrongly a lot of focus is on West Coast at the moment,” Scott said.
“They are a proud club, they are very well coached.
“I get the pressure they're under.
“Last week, don't worry about Adam Simpson – Norm Smith, Kevin Sheedy, Mick Malthouse, Leigh Matthews couldn't have coached with those injuries.
“They are a good club.
“I was just really surprised, I shouldn't be surprised because I've been around long enough to know, but everyone accepts the injuries but then they won't say ‘oh yeah, but that's fair enough'
“The scrutiny has been over the top in my view.
“You are talking about a premiership coach and a guy that's taken the team to a grand final previously. I just find it a bit unsavoury.”
The Eagles now sit last on the ladder with just one win on the board as Round 11 nears a close, with tough matches to come against Collingwood, Adelaide and Sydney.
Speaking after Saturday night's loss, Simpson was thankful for Scott's comments, but conceded that the club has a tough road ahead.
“I know you guys are up and about, especially the local paper but that doesn't excuse some of the games recently,” Simpson said.
“We'll look different if we had those (injured) players back.
“We're on a journey and a pathway that I keep telling everyone is going to be hard.
“I appreciate, I don't know what (Scott) said, but there's a little bit more understating in the coaching fraternity what we're dealing with at the moment.
“It's a challenging industry and when you've won one game, it can get to you. I'm holding up OK.
“It's all part of the job.”
Essendon's win sees the club back within the top eight, set to play North Melbourne, Carlton and Fremantle in the coming weeks.