Basseterre (St Kitts): The West Indies coach, Bennett King, is amused at the “perception” that he’s the supremo.

“That could be the perception, but I don’t see it that way... I’m a collaborative coach, one who works with the captain and the rest.... I can’t, of course, go around changing perceptions,” the 41-year-old Australian told The Telegraph.

Interacting on Monday, King added: “I’m clear about what needs to be done for West Indies cricket to move forward and I’ve been seeking everybody’s help... It’s a challenging assignment, no doubt...”

King accepted the offer in late 2004 after having rejected it more than a year before that. “Well, yes, I’d been put off by the Board's decision to announce my ‘appointment’ even before finalising terms and conditions... Such things aren’t done,” he said.

For the record, King succeeded Gus Logie and current Team India coach Greg Chappell had also been approached. He’s a selector, too, and sits with Joey Carew (convenor), Gordon Greenidge and Clyde Butts.

“Look, I don’t think being a selector is a big deal... After all, good selectors will always listen to the coach,” King maintained.

Asked if there were bad vibes between Chappell and him, given their exchange of words through the Media in the not too distant past, King laughed: “Not from my side, that’s for sure... Both of us are mature to see beyond such things...”

A former Queensland coach (he succeeded John Buchanan) and one-time boss at the Commonwealth Bank Academy, King remarked he didn’t look up to anybody as a role model.

“I’ve definitely admired quite a few coaches from other disciplines... I’ve learnt from them, but haven’t regarded anybody as a role model... I’ve also learnt quite a bit from my father, Kevin, who was a headmaster... Values and so on...”

King, of course, has detractors and former wicketkeeper Jeffrey Dujon is one. Indeed, in an interview to us the other day, he went as far as to say: “The funny thing about the West Indies is that people don’t tend to have faith in their own... The employment of a coach from overseas stems from a colonial mentality...”

The coach himself took a swipe at former cricketers (during a Media conference) the other day when he observed: “I’ve been open to help from anybody, but really don’t know why nobody is coming forward...”

One assumes better results are going to make his (and Brian Lara’s) life a lot easier.