Fremantle coach Ross Lyon has responded to criticism of his coaching style, claiming there are players at the club who view him as a father figure, thewest.com.au is reporting.

Speaking at Fremantle Oval this morning, the Freo Dockers coach said the suggestion he “burned players out” was wide of the mark.

 “I have players on this list that describe me as a father figure, so if you think my behaviour with those players can be so disparate from other players, I think you’re living in ga-ga land,” he said at his weekly media conference.

“All I know is the teams I’ve coached, and you can only go on how they give effort.

Lyon was the right call

“If what you were saying is true it’s impossible to give the effort and play consistent footy year after year like they do.”

Lyon’s style has been defended by both outgoing club president Steve Harris and his former captain at St Kilda Nick Riewoldt, who yesterday told Fox Footy if you couldn’t handle the coach’s approach, you may not be up to the demands of AFL football.

“There’s one of the greatest players in the game’s history that has summed up how I coach,” Lyon said today.

“You can’t have people that describe you as a father figure, anyone that thinks I would treat players any differently, it’s naive at best, mischievous at worst.”

Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe has also been the subject of speculation over his future after former St Kilda board member Nathan Burke suggested the club had built a “war chest” to go after a major free agent in coming years.

Harris throws his support behind Lyon

Despite the interest, Lyon said he didn’t feel any added pressure to “sell” the Fremantle Dockers’ future to the star midfielder.

“Nathan will work through it. He’s committed, he loves Fremantle, just listen to his Brownlow speech,” he said.

“Again, it’s all speculation.

“We’ll all queue up for Buddy, wouldn’t we? Theory land and fantasy land and reality is hugely different.

“So, we’re really comfortable with where things sit.

“He’s theoretically the best player in the land, so he’s always going to have attention.”