"I think it's something that's crept up on some people here," Leppitsch said of Redden's notice to seek a trade from the bottom-placed club. "I'd like to think we've got the avenues to be a problem-solving environment at the footy club [and] all our issues we have, on-field or off-field, can be resolved.

"There's still lots of things our football club needs to improve. We've made a lot of changes, particularly off the field, and that sometimes can make the players a bit nervous of what's going to happen in the future, but all I can say is it's going to be a better place, the footy club."

He said Redden felt his football had gone stale. "He thinks there's more improvement in him. And I guess we agree with him on that, but we still think it's here; we still think we can get the best out of him here.

"So it's just a matter of proving that to Jack, keeping in touch with him and making sure we're doing the best we can to keep him and show him his best footy's here."

Leppitsch faced questions about his own player-management style today, but was confident his relationship with his charges was solid.

"I'll let others talk about my style. I'm sure every player will be different – one might be close and say 'I love you, you're the best', and others might go 'yeah, I struggled [to get the best out of myself]'. It's like that with every coach.

"You're seeing articles at the moment, players leaving, players retiring, you know. We got three [players] last year [Allen Christensen, Dayne Beams and Mitch Robinson] that left clubs as well, because they didn't like the current organisation, so it's a time of movement as well.

"Part of you can get caught up in the hysteria of it, but we want to fix the problems and keep the people we want to keep, which we've done pretty well over the last couple of years, and Jack's one of those."

He said his relationship with Redden was good. "I keep every text message I've got with him, and I've looked back through them all and they look OK to me. I wouldn't say my relationship with any of the players is poor. You have varying degrees of relationships with everybody in your life, I know, but I wouldn't say it's a poor relationship at all."

Of talk that Dayne Zorko and Stefan Martin might look to follow Redden, Leppitsch said he couldn't follow speculation. "I really can only talk about what's at hand. I only hope that if there are issues that they come to me directly or they go to someone that can help them.

"At times clubs make decisions on players and players make decisions on clubs, but we're very confident that all the players we want, they're contracted, they're here, and we're going to get better as a football club."

The Lions play the Western Bulldogs at the Gabba on Saturday, and Leppitsch said the Dogs' rise was a good template for his club to follow as he tried to maintain a positive environment.

"I think what the Bulldogs have done is a really good show for us, as a football club, of what you can do.

"The facts are the facts – our reserves have finished on the bottom; we're currently at the bottom … We've had a ridiculously high injury rate, we haven't had our best players out there, our captain's been interrupted all year; it's been a really tough year for our boys.

"We also have to remember the facts of why we'll get better next year as well, and I think having a fit list and add another two or three good mature players and some good young kids through the draft, we'll get better again. That's all a part of the long-term planning, so for mine it's a simple message of stay the course, and everything will be OK."