Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he will soon announce a contract extension with his AFL club after rejecting overtures to join Gold Coast.
Hinkley topped the Suns’ wish-list to replace the sacked Rodney Eade but will honour his contract to coach Port until the end of next season.
And Hinkley believes a contract extension beyond that will soon be settled.
“At some stage in the very near future, hopefully that will take care of itself,” Hinkley told Adelaide radio station 5AA on Monday.
“We have spoken and we will continue to talk and I’m really hopeful that something will happen quickly.
“And I have great belief in (Port chief executive) Keith (Thomas) and (president) David (Koch) that that will be the case.
“Most definitely will I be coaching Port Adelaide in 2018 and I’m very, very hopeful that it’s a lot longer to go.”
The Suns approached Hinkley’s management about their vacant coaching job but he said an offer was never tabled.
“There has been some interest from outside of Port Adelaide clearly,” he said.
“There’s some reasons for me to think about those types of things.
“But there has been never any doubt in my mind that this group of (Port) players, that we are in it together, that we are invested together, and we feel like we’re starting to get somewhere again.”
Hinkley said he and the club would announce a contract extension in due course. Fairfax Media reported on Tuesday that a three-year extension had been agreed.
“It (negotiations) is private, it should remain that way,” he said.
“And when the announcement is to be made, and when the club and myself and my management we agree on what we think the direction of the future is, we will make that call.”