Essendon coach James Hird won’t be leaving the AFL club any time soon if it’s up to him.

Thursday’s resignation of chief executive Ian Robson over their supplements saga prompted suggestions that football department bosses such as Hird deserve an even greater share of the blame.

But the Essendon favourite son has no intention of following Robson out the door.

“I’m the coach of the Essendon Football Club, I love coaching the club, I intend to coach them for a long time and coach them for the supporters, the players and everyone involved,” Hird told reporters on Friday.

“We’ve got a very important game tomorrow night and let’s move on to the game and talk about what’s going to be 90,000 people (watching) Essendon and Richmond, who are fierce rivals and both trying to get somewhere.”

Hird wouldn’t talk about whether he carried more responsibility than Robson for what substances Essendon players took last season, citing the ongoing Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) investigation.

“Speaking about the issues to come out of ASADA would be inappropriate,” he said.

“We’ve given an undertaking we won’t do that until after the ASADA report comes out.”

Essendon chairman David Evans on Thursday said he was hopeful the ASADA investigation was nearly finished and its completion would result in some change at the Bombers.

Hird acknowledged ASADA interviews with Essendon players over the past fortnight had been a distraction.

“It has been,” he said.

“This is not a normal (part of) your weekly routine for football.

“But the majority of those interviews are now done, the players have now got through that part of the process, ASADA will go away and contemplate their report, but for us now it’s about playing football.”

Tuesday night’s stabbing of utility Nathan Lovett-Murray further added to the tumultuous nature of the Bombers’ build-up to Saturday night’s clash with the Tigers.

But Hird said they had trained well this week despite the disruptions and he was confident of an improved performance, after two straight defeats.

Essendon on Friday confirmed the appointment of former Tatts Group chief financial officer Ray Gunston as their interim chief executive.

Gunston, a former Bombers board member and the father of Hawthorn forward Jack Gunston, will fill the role for at least the rest of this season.

“He will bring great leadership and expertise to the role at an important time for the Essendon Football Club,” Evans said.

The Bombers will now begin the recruitment process for a permanent replacement.