FREMANTLE coach Mark Harvey will not stand in the way of assistant Chris Scott if he wants to pursue a senior coaching role during his team's run to the finals.

Scott, a dual premiership player with the Brisbane Lions, joined Harvey's coaching team in 2008 and is understood to be a candidate for the Port Adelaide head coaching role, currently held by caretaker Matthew Primus.  

With Fremantle's place in September assured, Harvey says he has no reservations about Scott pursuing the job during the club's final's campaign.

"Always encourage your staff," Harvey said from training at Melbourne's Wesley College.

"If there's a position that's really going to fulfil what they want to do from a career point of view then you always encourage them."

Harvey says Scott's football intellect will stand him in good stead as he seeks to become a senior coach.

"He's got a really good understanding of the game. I think a lot of coaches that have played a lot in defence; it really holds them in good stead and Chris is one of those guys who has a good understanding and ability to read the game.

"He's early on in his assistant coaching role but his methodology and the way he communicates is terrific. It's indicative of some of the appointments we've made over the last couple of years to get the right infrastructure."

Harvey spent eight years as an assistant coach at Essendon before moving to Fremantle in 2006 to work under the tutelage of Chris Connolly.

It wasn't until Connolly resigned late in 2007 that Harvey got his chance as caretaker coach.

While he may have spent 10 years as an assistant before landing a senior coaching job, Harvey said there was no ideal length for a coaching apprenticeship.

"Michael Voss went through a different type of initiation into coaching. Some do an apprenticeship for five years, some 10 years, some get given it a little bit early.

"I'm not sure what the right scale is for coaching but all I know is that you need a pretty good understanding of whether you can hold your own in many areas."

Port Adelaide has confirmed it will complete its search for a senior coach by grand final week, meaning interested candidates will need to meet with the club over the coming month.