New Sydney coach Dean Cox says he can’t wait to get his AFL coaching career underway on Friday as he revealed the moment he found out he would be a senior coach.

The West Coast champion turned Swans head coach will be calling the shots for the first time when Sydney face Hawthorn on March 7 but insisted his focus is on the players and not his own journey.

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“I’m just really excited about Friday night it’s not necessarily about me it’s about the players starting their season and the new journey that we’re on,” he said on AFL360.

“For me, it’s about trying to stay calm and leaning on my assistant coaches and then making that final decision.

“It’s about adapting and evolving and attacking the footy as best we can.”

Cox was long touted as Longmire’s successor, staying with the club despite interest from West Coast to become their senior coach, but said Longmire’s decision to step down in November last year came out of the blue.

“All the plans were when the season finished for John to have some time away and come back in January and that was the plan,” he said.

“And then I was asked to come into the club and we sat at the table I’m at now and they said you’re coaching and my world changed pretty quickly.”

Cox paid tribute to his coaching mentor as he revealed his philosophy heading into the season.

“I’m fortunate to learn from one of the best to learn how best to prepare and start seasons and I want to put our teams in the best position to challenge every year,” he said.

“I’m going to try and keep my calm as much as possible whether not I can we’ll see.

“I want to play some kids and get some youth into the team.”

He has already been handed a major headache before the season opener after superstar Errol Gulden went down with a broken ankle in their pre-season clash and said it remains to be seen how much footy he will miss.

“I have spoken to Errol obviously devastating for him and the footy club,” he said.

“We were really fortunate to have our medical staff on hand and have surgery Thursday morning.

“Ge’ll meet his surgeon in about 5 weeks time to learn exactly how long he’ll be out for.”