North Melbourne have announced that Alastair Clarkson will take back the reigns as head coach in a full-time capacity in Round 21. The four-time premiership coach returned to Arden St on Tuesday, two months after taking leave to deal with his mental health.

Clarkson suggested he might not return until next season, but the Kangaroos revealed on Wednesday that he’ll be back in the hot seat in two weeks. The coach will sit out this Sunday’s clash with St Kilda and the round 20 match against West Coast, before resuming ahead of the game against Melbourne on August 6.

“We’re so pleased that Alastair can return to the role of senior coach,” North Melbourne chief executive Jennifer Watt said. “The time away was critical for Alastair to address his physical and mental health and it’s obvious to everyone that he’s hungry and ready to resume his place as our senior coach.

“Alastair, and indeed the whole club, has been incredibly grateful to Brett Ratten and the entire coaching group, for stepping up in his absence. We have been very purposeful with Alastair’s return and integration back into the program to ensure a seamless transition for our playing group and to provide Alastair with the time to reacquaint himself with both the game and the program.”

It comes as the Kangaroos are caught in the midst of a brutal 11-game losing streak, having not tasted victory since their round two triumph over Fremantle.

Clarkson has returned to the club since taking an indefinite leave of absence earlier in 2023 amid the furore surrounding the Hawthorn racism investigation, but interim coach Brett Ratten has been in charge. He did his first work with players in two months when he returned to Arden Street on Tuesday, some two months after taking leave to focus on his mental health, with the backing of the Kangaroos.

In his absence, signs of improvement have been sparse. While there were some early glimmers of progress under Ratten, who was sacked as head coach by St Kilda in 2022, none of it has translated into wins.

Their continued slide has prompted serious concern among AFL observers, however the task facing Clarkson was enormous in scope well before his arrival. The Kangaroos have won just 11 games out of 78 across the past four seasons.

Upon his return on Tuesday, Clarkson flagged that a full-time comeback was likely not on the cards until next year – adding another disrupted campaign to North’s woeful recent history. He told reporters it was “probably more likely that it’ll be later rather than sooner” that he resumes the reigns from Ratten.