THE Western Bulldogs will open discussions with coach Luke Beveridge about a contract extension in the coming months, with club president Peter Gordon saying he expect him to have a “long stay” at the Whitten Oval.

Beveridge is only six rounds into the second season of a three-year contract, but the club’s on-field turnaround since his arrival is certain to guarantee him a revamped new deal.

Asked if talks would soon start on a new deal for the coach, Gordon said: “I’m sure we will, he has been a terrific acquisition.”

“I am sure sometime during the course of the year we will sit down and have a beer and a yarn, and I am sure we will put that away at some point that is convenient to both of us,” Gordon told AFL Live.

“I lay claim to credit of saying at the start of last year that we have signed one of the great coaches of the next 10 or 20 years. I am sure he will have a long stay as Bulldogs coach.”

Beveridge has won 18 of his 29 games as Bulldogs coach, and led the club into the finals in his debut season at the helm last year.

Gordon put much of the credit for selecting the coach on former Bulldog and now media commentator Luke Darcy, who insisted the club hold out on making a decision until Beveridge had returned from overseas.