Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley feels none of the pressure has lifted on him and the club despite the Power’s gritty two-point win over St Kilda.
Hinkley came under heavy fire after Port suffered a home belting by the Brisbane Lions as disgruntled fans left early and booed the long-term coach when he appeared on the big screen at Adelaide Oval.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Hinkley urges fans to get behind Port Adelaide.
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Last Sunday’s victory over the Saints kept Port (9-6) inside the top eight and quietened noise around Hinkley’s future at Alberton.
But when asked if the performance had taken any pressure off, Hinkley replied: “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”.
“Have a look at the competition and how close it is. It’s so tight,” Hinkley said.
“Every game is going to mean so much.
“You’re going to look at that ladder every week and it’s going to go everywhere, every week.
“The reality is there’s pressure in this game from now right to the very end and everyone who’s trying to compete in it would be feeling it.”
Hinkley became emotional at Marvel Stadium in the aftermath of beating the Saints.
Asked how he felt moments after the final siren, Hinkley’s emotions were raw.
“Pretty hard … been a tough week. Great boys – I really like the fact that we were under the pump and we just stuck at it,” he told Fox Footy.
Hinkley was unapologetic for the display, even after some criticism of the show of emotion being too much for a scrappy win against a 15th-placed team.
“Sometimes things like that happen,” he said.
“It’s always a reflection of what the performance has been like.
“We worked really hard as a whole club to make sure we got that performance last week to win in a really tight game.”