Terry Wallace admits his AFL coaching career will be over if Richmond do not reach the finals in 2009.

Wallace has conceded the Tigers' aims of finishing in the top eight in 2008 were all but over, but insisted he deserved to see out the final year of his five-year contract because the side was improving.

But he acknowledged the minimum requirement to earn him a new contract beyond next season would be guiding Richmond to their first finals campaign since 2001.

Another failure would spell the end.

"Absolutely. That will be the case after a five-year period in term, why wouldn't that be the case?" he said.

"We've got to be mature enough to handle that and deal with it.

"Coming into the last year of contract with speculation and everything else that will go on over that six-month period (before the season).

"But that's no problem. We're all big boys, we know that's where it's exactly going to sit. So I won't shy away from that at all."

Having invested four years in trying to turn around Richmond's on-field woes, Wallace has no interest in starting from scratch again at another club.

But he maintained after another campaign without finals, after finishes of 12th (2005), ninth (2006) and last (2007) in his reign, he deserved to get the chance to be rewarded for the rebuilding the club began in 2005-06.

"Would I love to see Brett Deledio get to 25 years of age, to see Trent Cotchin when he's got 100 games under his belt, when our backmen have played together five or six seasons? Absolutely, that's my desire to do that," he said.

"I'll be working as hard as I can to do my part of it and then decisions will be made."

Three quarters of the way through this season Richmond were just outside the eight, buoyant and playing well, and provided hope to their coach and long-suffering supporters.

But a thrashing by Geelong and last Sunday's insipid showing against Adelaide reaffirmed the major concern - Richmond cannot match it with the best.

They must now win their remaining three games, starting with second-placed Hawthorn on Sunday, and hope other results fall their way to be any chance of playing in September.

Richmond's eight wins this season have all come against sides currently outside the eight.

Their inability to score regularly against the toughest defences is evident in a six-goal gap between their average scores against teams inside and outside the eight.

Wallace - whose press conference was halted while Leisel Jones swam for gold in the Olympic swimming pool - said the Tigers had to get better at turning games into arm-wrestles and playing well in heavy conditions, which they could not manage at AAMI Stadium against the Crows.

The latter was attributable to the club's youth, as Adelaide's bigger bodies were able to shrug aside the young Tigers.

But Wallace was confident Richmond fans were happy with the club's current core, recruited in 2004-06.

"If we continue to improve with young players playing well we're heading in the right direction," he said.

"If we stagnate now that we've got young players playing, or don't continue to improve, well, we're not heading in the right direction."

Richmond's eight wins and a draw is an improvement on 2007, when the season tally was three wins and a draw.

"That's still a step in the right direction," Wallace said.

"Not where we want to be, but a step in the right direction."

Wallace said he would have no input on who succeeds the sacked Greg Miller as Richmond's football director.

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