The St Kilda Football Club today announced it had received the resignation of Head of Football, Chris Pelchen.



CEO Matt Finnis revealed that he and Pelchen had reviewed the Club’s football program at the end of the season and identified that an increased high performance orientation within the Football Department was required to complement the Club’s strong talent management platform.



The pair agreed that a restructure at the conclusion of the annual AFL Trade Period was an appropriate time to implement change.



Matt Finnis thanked Mr Pelchen for his work at the Saints and wished him well for the future.



“Chris has professionally led our football department since August 2011 and in that time introduced a strategic focus to the Club’s list management activities and helped turn around our Total Player Payments position. Amongst other initiatives, Chris was instrumental in the Club entering a new market in New Zealand and the establishment of the Saints Player Academy - while the strategy to re-contract a significant number of our young players in a single campaign throughout 2014 can also be attributed to Chris’ expertise.



“However, following our end of season review, we agreed to make some changes to drive further development in our high performance programs across our Football Department.



“The highly competitive AFL landscape requires us to drive a program that combines bringing in and retaining the best players with uncompromising excellence in the development and performance of our team.”



Chris Pelchen said that he was pleased to have played a central role in providing the Saints a strong foundation from which to regenerate its football program in pursuit of future success.



"The Saints are an iconic brand in the AFL competition and I am pleased to have played a part in strategically repositioning them for future success - an objective that I am confident will be achieved in coming years,” he said.



"Like all AFL clubs, there must be a relentless pursuit of premierships and I fully support the Club's need to restructure their football program to reflect the ever changing landscape."



Mr Finnis said the club has now completed a thorough review of its football operations and was looking forward to coach Alan Richardson starting his first full pre-season with the playing group and entering the November National Draft with three picks inside the top 22.



“This upcoming National Draft is an exciting period for the club and Ameet Bains, Tony Elshaug and their team are a long way down the path in determining which talented young players will be recruited into the Club,” he said.



Chris Pelchen will depart the Club after completing a handover of responsibilities with relevant Football Department personnel. The search for a replacement will commence immediately and Mr Bains will oversee the Football Department until an appointment is made.



“St Kilda is a proud foundation AFL club with a developing list and a quality coach - I know there will be strong interest in this position. Whomever is appointed will play a key role in overseeing the management and strategy of our high performance environment,” Finnis concluded.

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