The four-time Koroit premiership defender has accepted a two-year deal to coach the representative side, eager to build on the promise and passion ignited under former mentor Nick O’Sullivan.

McLaren, a former Saints coach, will combine the interleague role with playing duties at Koroit as it prepares to mount its premiership defence. 

He said leading Hampden, drawn to play the Murray league at home in May, was the ideal way to step back into the coaching caper.

“I won’t be playing in it (the country championships game) — my days of that are well and truly over,” McLaren said.

“But I love coaching and love that side of footy so it will be good to be involved. It is an honour to do. You want to put in a good performance as a player and it’s the same thing as a coach.”

McLaren said the late start to the Hampden league season on April 18 meant organisation was paramount for the May 23 interleague fixture.

But he expects to assemble a strong Bottle Greens team — there will be an emphasis on running and quick ball movement — determined to perform after a humbling 125-point loss to Ovens and Murray last year.

McLaren said the depth of talent in the league, from promising teenagers, wily veterans and new recruits, was exciting.

He also pinpointed the positive impact the introduction of Portland and Hamilton Kangaroos to the HFNL two seasons ago had on interleague, with the newcomers embracing the concept and adding more competition for spots.

“We have high-quality players coming into the competition this year too — the assistant coach (Tim McIntyre) at Warrnambool, Camperdown’s new coach (Phil Carse) and Daniel Nicholson at Port Fairy,” he said.

“If they want to play, great.”

McLaren, who admitted it was hard to compete with country championship powerhouses such as Ovens and Murray due to finances, player stocks and location, praised O’Sullivan for his four-year term.

He said it gave Hampden a strong base to build on.

“Nick and his crew did a brilliant job,” McLaren said.

“Before that (interest) started to drop off a little bit, even though we had good coaches.” McLaren said his team, which includes retired Camperdown forward Aaron Sinnott and former South Warrnambool coach Matthew Monk,would put “our own spin on things”. “We have ideas. Getting past interleague players to training and games and there is a chance to do some work with Geelong football club,” he said. “James Rahilly will help out there.”

McLaren, who overcame a quad strain to play in a fourth Saints’ flag last September, said his desire to play on with Koroit was strong.