‘Maybe I do belong’: Lions coach’s heartfelt call after candid ‘imposter syndrome’ reveal

Two-time Brisbane premiership coach Chris Fagan has admitted he used to be a victim of “a bit imposter syndrome” prior to winning his first flag as coach last year.

Fagan reflected fondly on his latest silverware triumph while in charge of the Lions, after his sparkling brigade stormed to a dominant grand final win over Geelong on Saturday.

Returning to Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Fagan was asked by host Gerard Whateley if leading the Lions to a second premiership in as many years buried any insecurities about his standing in the game.

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“Yeah, look, if I was to be totally honest, Gerard, there were times when I’ve, even up until last year when we won the flag, I felt like maybe there was a little bit of imposter syndrome,” he candidly revealed on Monday night.

“Was I good enough to help this team win a premiership? All of those things, all those thoughts go through your head — I think they’re natural enough.

“So, winning one gave me a fair bit of confidence, and I guess now that we’ve been able to do it again, I feel like maybe I do belong in the coaching ranks. So, hopefully I’ve got a few more years left in me; we’ll see how we go.”

After his side blitzed Sydney in last year’s decider, Fagan became the game’s oldest premiership coach and the first one in more than half a century to have done it without playing at the elite level.

The 64-year-old reflected on what those feats meant to him, as well as the impact he hoped to have on other coaches looking to do it the unconventional way.

“First of all, I think I’ve been pretty fortunate in my football background to have some great coaches, both in Tassie and working with Neale (Daniher) and ‘Clarko’ (Alastair Clarkson), so I learned a lot from those guys, so I was probably no rookie when I came to the opportunity to coach the Brisbane Lions,” he said on AFL 360.

“All my past experiences had helped me enormously, so I’m very grateful for that. But I think in terms of I hope that it gives others that have walked in my shoes the idea that maybe it is possible to coach an AFL team if you do a good enough apprenticeship.

“It took me a long time; I worked at AFL level for 19 years before I did get the opportunity and was very fortunate to get it.

“But I do hope that it does give other people who are working in the industry the idea that if they work hard enough and take their opportunities when they come along that they may well be able to do the same thing.”