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By Michael Whiting

Out of contract Gold Coast SUNS coach Guy McKenna is backing his coaching philosophy, predicting the SUNS fortunes to turn sooner rather than later.

After a wooden spoon in its first season and 69 and 92-point hidings to open 2012, McKenna has been criticised in some circles – most notably by former North Melbourne premiership player David King - for a lack of development among his young squad.

But the SUNS coach hit back on Friday, saying player development takes time.

McKenna said he was comfortable with the direction Gold Coast was headed and would not be deviating from his path.

"My KPIs are around showing we're improving from last season and that's what I need to do. How I do that, that's between the club and myself," McKenna said.

"I'm not rushing players in just to save my contract. It's all about what I need to do and I haven't changed that from the start of pre-season and I'm comfortable what we're delivering as coaches.

"I'm sure when we get the effort we expect from each other, we'll play the footy we want to play and everything else after that will take care of itself. It'll come, I'm sure it will."

McKenna used Ross Lyon and former teammate John Worsfold as examples of coaches that had taken time to implement a gameplan that ultimately proved successful.

He said Lyon's forward press at St Kilda took more than a year to ingrain in the Saints after he took over as coach in 2007, while Worsfold almost lost his job at West Coast after a wooden spoon year in 2010 before rising again with a top-four finish last year.

"So am I going to back away from it? No. I'm going to back myself in with what we're coaching and once the players buy in and we have some effort, I'm sure this will turn," McKenna said.

"And I'm sure because of our list and being so young and having some talented boys in there, it'll happen sooner rather than later, but I'm not going to shy away from it just to save my own skin.

"I'm not backing away from what we've started. We had a process last year, we're instigating it this year, it's going to look ugly and bad at times and it probably looks worse right now because we don't have that effort. If that effort comes in, it'll slowly turn and I think eventually quickly turn."

McKenna said while it was unrealistic to expect the majority of his squad – who have played less than 20 matches – to improve too dramatically, there was one area he demanded more from against Essendon at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

"Regardless of how many games of experience you have, you certainly need effort to win a game of football and that's what I want to see this weekend," he said.