LEGENDARY coach Ron Barassi has no doubt James Hird can turn around Essendon’s fortunes.

One of the worst kept secrets in football was confirmed on Tuesday morning when Hird was appointed Bombers coach for the next four years.

With little coaching experience, he will face many doubters as he embarks on his new career, but Barassi believes Hird’s intellect and knowledge of the game will allow him to learn on the job.

“He’s pretty smart and he’s not afraid of hard work,” Barassi told afl.com.au.

“If he did get a superstar assistant then that might cut short his workload a bit, but he’d be a quick learner.

“He’s got a quick brain and you’ve got to have a good brain to be a senior coach!”

Barassi, who coached Carlton, North Melbourne, Melbourne and the Sydney Swans in his career, was surprised by the indecision Hird showed during the past few months.

“He’s come into the coaching scene in a very strange way when you think about it,” Barassi said.

“I mean he’s had this on-again-off-again thing going on, which is not like him. It might be just a case of a guy who didn’t quite know what he wanted.”

But having followed in the footsteps of his own father by playing for Melbourne, Barassi believes Hird’s strong family ties to Essendon might have swayed him to rejoin the club.

“He’s a great man for his club,” Barassi said. “He does love the Bombers and his grandfather played there for goodness sake, plus he had great success individually as a player there, playing in premierships for them.

“It will be a love affair. He’ll love what he’s doing. He’s just got into the job in a strange way, a different way, an odd way.

“But good luck to him. I think he’s one of football’s great heroes.”