Leon Cameron won't be drawn on whether he wants to remain GWS coach beyond 2022 but is confident speculation around his AFL future isn't distracting his players.
Cameron is out of contract at season's end and he and GWS have parked talks until after the current campaign.
But despite the scrutiny that has come with GWS' 1-4 start to his ninth season at the helm, Cameron had no plans to address his future earlier.
"That's the main reason why we've put it to the end of the year, is because then both club and coach can make a really good, strong decision," Cameron said.
"Of course I'm enjoying my coaching but equally, as I said earlier in the week, I'm not silly. When you're 1-4, you're under more scrutiny than most, than if you're 4-1.
"But it's not going to change. Whether we get to the round 15 mark and we've swung it around and we're 10-5, my answer will be exactly the same: we and the club will make a mature decision at the end of the year.
"Because it's not just about going on for another year, it's going on for another three or four years and you decide: is the coach the right person? Has the coach got the right amount of energy to do it?
"Ross Lyon was always very, very good in this and I admire what he did as a coach: you can't be 98 per cent as a coach. You've either got to be 100 per cent or you're not there.
"So that decision will be made at the end of the year."
While aware his future would come up every week, Cameron was determined it wouldn't faze him, or change the plan to delay contract talks.
"My job is to not worry about what the outside influences say about myself because that's a distraction and you don't want that to become a distraction," he said.
GWS will regain Toby Greene from suspension for Friday night's clash with St Kilda.
Cameron played down suggestions it was a must-win for their finals hopes and was adamant "outside noise" around his future wouldn't distract his players.
"There's always going to be distractions. Dealing with those distractions is part of being an AFL footballer and I'm really confident that they'll deal with that," he said.
"Because the coach hasn't signed a contract yet or his discussion will wait until the end of the year, that doesn't mean that six players are just going to drop off by five or 10 per cent. That doesn't work that way.
"My job is to make sure they're playing some good footy. Their confidence is down a little bit but ... there was some good footy against Fremantle and Melbourne, it just needs to be longer."
