An interview with Stan Alves, by Greg Hobbs as appeared in the Football Record, 12.4.98.

Hobbs: I have gone against the general flow and picked St Kilda to win the flag in 1998.  Have I gone off the rails?
Alves: I don't think it is too big a call, although I recognize the competition is very close.  If we play at our best, we are equal to any other side and I genuinely mean that.  I feel comfortable that I have the players who are capable of doing it.

Does it amuse you that few commentators have picked St Kilda to make the Grand Final?
I can understand that in the view of many, the jury may still be out on St Kilda.   The challenge we have as a club is to stand the test of time.

What are your quick views on... losing the 1997 Grand Final?
A learning experience, but still a bitter pill to swallow.  I am convinced that if we approach things in the right way, it could be the making of us.

Losing the 1998 Ansett Cup Grand Final?
We used that series as a learning curve where we could do some experimenting.   We got to a position better than we had probably hoped.  What we got out of the series far outweighed the end result.  Of course we would have liked to have won it.

Does the name Darren Jarman haunt you?
No

Wayne Carey?
No. But those two players were absolutely fantastic and each time you play there is always potentially someone who can bob up and do that to you.  I don't downplay their significance and how great they are.  I would like to think we will repay the debt.

How fulfilling was it to see your coaching status turned around last season when it seemed you were in strife early then end up in a Grand final and coach of the All-Australian side?
I find it difficult to comment on because I took no notice of what was thrown at me early.  I think the coach is a really important person, but let's not overrate him.  I happen to know my coaching methods changed very little during the year.   The players and I made a commitment to stick with what we said we would do, but make sure we did it better.

Were you prepared to quit if the players had not stood behind you?
What I said to the players was that I wouldn't walk away and resign unless I had lost them.  As a coach, you are there to guide the players and if they indicated to me they had lost me and didn't have a belief in what I was doing, that would be the time for me to walk away.  When they said "no we haven't" that convinced me to stay.

How did the club handle the media flak directed at St Kilda regarding the release after last season of Joel Smith and Jamie Shanahan?
The media can only speculate on what they think is happening and that's not a criticism.  We happen to know what is going on within.  We have to make decisions and go with them.  If other people interpret that they (those decisions) are wrong, so be it.

Do you consider yourself an emotional coach who believes in having strong ties with his players?
Yes.  That is my personality.  I play the game inwardly as they are playing.  I have a real feeling for them.  If I can openly express my feelings and whether people like it or don't like it, I can't help it - it's me.

Over the years St Kilda has had a reputation as a loose cannon, of being unable to consolidate.  How important is 1998 on that score?
I would prefer not to burden the players with St Kilda's history.  But in a short space of time, we have come from a side that was discounted to a side that is seen as being competitive and respected.  what we haven't done yet is show the football world we can do it over a long period of time.

Your thoughts on...
Robert Harvey?
Role model

Nathan Burke?
Guts, inspiration.

Stewart Loewe?
A critical player, an outstanding leader.  He plays the toughest position on the field (centre half forward).  He's a man mountain.

Jason Heatley?
I think he could be heaps better and must continue to work hard on the talent he has been given.

Nicky Winmar?
Just brilliant.  A match winner. But as age wearies the legs, you must counter-balance it with extra work.

Aussie Jones?
Brilliance.  Arrogance.

Peter Everitt?
Match-winner.  Haven't got the best out of him yet.  Peter hasn't realised what's inside Peter and I think he has only scratched the surface.

Is it true Stewart Loewe had to go through considerable personal problems in the lead up to the 197 Grand Final?
Very few people knew about it.  But it got to me when so many people were talking about Stewart's non-performance in the Grand Final.  I happen to believe   Loewe's performances in the finals got us to the Grand Final.  The things that he went through and the things that he did on the day - I have so much admiration for him.   He had to overcome a lot - many others would have pulled the pin and not got on the ground.

You have had to overcome personal tragedy with the death of your son Matthew in 1989.  does that still affect your life?
Most definitely it does.  I can't help but feel I can see a bit of Matthew in the players.  You think it could be your own son running around.

Is it true you speak to Matthew every day and also meditate every day?
Yes.  I might meditate for half an hour a day - at home, mostly in the morning, or maybe in my office for a while.  Get my thoughts and part of that time is spent speaking to my son.  I am not a religious person, but I have become spiritual and part of my process of coping is that I have a genuine belief that physically you may still leave this earth, but spiritually you are still around.  My belief is that I will be with  my son one day and that in the meantime, I can still close my eyes and speak to him.

Have you and your wife Judy any other children?
A daughter, Sheridan.  She is working as a snowboard instructor in America and Canada.  It's a great job.

You played most of your football at Melbourne.   Do you still have feelings for the club?
I go to the past players' functions and my feelings for the club are for the players I played with and the people I knew there.

What about North Melbourne, where you played in the 1977 Premiership side?
The same situation.  There was a reunion of the 1977 side at the club's best and fairest night last year which I attended.  I am welcome at both clubs, but in terms of my actual football today, I am 100 per cent St Kilda.

Where will Stan Alves be in five years time?
I don't know where he will be tomorrow.

Do you ever switch off football?
My wife got into me on this and said I was football seven days a week, 24 hours a day.  I have started playing golf and found that it is such a demanding game, I don't think of footy when I am out on the course.

At 51, do you find it is getting harder to relate to the younger players?
I don't, but sometimes I check myself because I don't know whether they might have trouble in relating to me.  Most of my time has been in and around football clubs and until something tells you that you are 51, you don't think you are.

If you had supreme power in football what changes would you make?
There is nothing that bugs me about the game, I love it.

Do coaches make players, or players make coaches?
A combination of both.