Alastair Clarkson has defended his temper after a clash with a reporter earlier this month, saying he cannot guarantee it will not flare up again.
While the North Melbourne coach apologised in person for his clash with a female journalist on February 1, he defended his role in the incident.
He admitted he said something "along the lines of, 'Your time will come,'" which is reportedly similar to what Kangaroos player Tarryn Thomas wrote in text messages to a woman.
Those allegations were brought to the club's attention by the AFL integrity unit and prompted the team to stand down Thomas after he was charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image of a woman.
Channel Nine reporter Elisabeth Moss was at North Melbourne training to cover the allegations against Thomas when Clarkson made his comments, for which he apologised.
It was the latest in several run-ins Clarkson has had during his AFL career. However, he defended his actions in an interview with Channel Seven.
"You'd think, with the experience … I've continually learned my lessons," he told Seven.
"But this has been with me ever since I was a kid.
"If I see something unjust or untoward, I will defend. And I saw something that was unjust and untoward.
"I felt like I needed to defend our players and staff, and I can't give a guarantee I won't do that again in the future."
But Clarkson admitted this latest incident had given him pause for thought.
"It was a wake-up call for me because it was confrontational," he said.
"I spoke to a female journalist in a manner that I didn't think was condescending in any way whatsoever, really, except that I thought her behaviour was untoward — and she took offence to that.
"I apologised in the next couple of hours to her."
Clarkson also dismissed commentary that it was a problem for him and the Kangaroos.
"I haven't really lost control … because I was doing what I thought was in the best interests of the club," he said.
While talking to Seven's Tim Watson, Clarkson defended Thomas, who is back at the club after a few weeks away.
"You come in at 17 to 18 years of age, and somewhere along the way just the wheels fall off for a period of time," Clarkson said.
"To be fair, everyone has issues in their life."
North Melbourne football manager and long-time Clarkson confidant Todd Viney said he had spoken to the coach about his temper.
"Part of my role as GM of footy is to control that, make sure he's not a 'bulldozer', in his words," Viney said.
Clarkson, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan and former colleague Jason Burt are the subjects of an ongoing racism investigation stemming from their time at Hawthorn.
"It's tough when you have to confront these types of allegations, but we know the program we put in place at that club over a long period of time and we know the care we had for all people in that club," Clarkson said.
AAP/ABC
