ESSENDON'S rookie coach, Matthew Knights, has been forced on to the back foot ahead of Sunday's match against the Swans after club president Ray Horsburgh's disclosure that veteran midfielders Jason Johnson and Damien Peverill had been told their careers at the club are virtually over.

While not directly criticising Horsburgh, Knights yesterday made it clear he was unhappy that the decision to sideline Johnson and Peverill in favour of younger players had been revealed in a newspaper interview.

"He [Horsburgh] holds a really strong and powerful position and at times he's going to need to speak on behalf of the football club," said Knights, who acknowledged he had told Johnson and Peverill their opportunities would be limited. "I'm disappointed the way it's played out, particularly for Jason and Pev, because they've been fantastic and superb players for the footy club.

"Obviously the chairman of the footy club has the opportunity to speak on behalf of the footy club at times. What I will do at the next board meeting is, I will raise the scenario and do it through the right manner and channels."

Knights was asked if he thought club presidents should not comment on playing matters. "I think that would be utopia, there's no doubt about that," he replied. "Again, at board level, I'll raise it."

With a long injury list and coming off successive defeats of 30, 36, 73 and 64 points, Knights has already come under pressure in his first season as replacement for Kevin Sheedy. With an ultra-attacking game plan that has exposed his team's defensive deficiencies, an element of the rich but underperforming club's 40,000-plus membership is already second-guessing the appointment of the former Essendon reserves coach.

Like several clubs with either ageing or flimsy playing lists, there will be strong pressure for Essendon to trade experienced players at the end of the season to gain prominent picks in what will be the last uncompromised draft for at least two years. The new Gold Coast and western Sydney teams are likely to take the cream from the 2009 and 2010 drafts. But while Knights said he again intended to use the Bombers' top picks to gain more young talent, he denied Horsburgh's suggestion the club would trade underperforming stars for draft picks or mature-aged replacements.

"As a club we will look to add to our list with more youth in this year's draft, I wouldn't have thought that we'd be trading aggressively," Knights said. "If an opportunity came up to bring a player into the football club that was of mature age that could help our list, we would look at it. It would be remiss of us not to. But again, I state that will be at the end of the year. It's not on the agenda now."

The Bombers are hoping to regain veteran defender Dustin Fletcher and midfielder Mark McVeigh for Sunday afternoon's ANZ Stadium match against a Sydney team that is moving close to full strength, other than the absence of suspended/injured forward Barry Hall.

¡ Hawthorn have signed coach Alastair Clarkson to a new deal that will keep him at the club until the end of 2011.