Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell expects his friendship with Nathan Buckley to change over the next two years, but for the good of the AFL club.

Maxwell said on Friday he and his teammates were delighted with the coaching succession plan the Magpies have put in place, which has them playing under Mick Malthouse for two more seasons and then under Buckley from 2012.

Buckley will serve as an assistant coach to Malthouse from next year, while Malthouse will become the club's director of coaching from 2012.

Buckley is a mentor of Maxwell's, as he detected leadership attributes early in the defender's career and later passed on his No.5 guernsey when he retired after the 2007 season.

Maxwell said the Magpies were rapt to have Buckley back, but expected he and his teammates would alter their relationships with their former skipper over the next two years.

"We're all thrilled," he said.

"He's got a couple of weeks now he's got the challenge of changing his relationships a little bit.

"He's a mate and a teammate to a lot of players now, and he's got to look into being a coach so he's got a couple of years to develop those relationships and change them a bit."

Maxwell said the Magpies were pleased the club's coaching future had been resolved before the finals, and also delighted to get the chance to continue their improvement under Malthouse.

"We're thrilled with the decision and the process the club went through," he said.

"We're very happy - you see the way we're playing for Mick - we're happy that he's going to stay on for a few more years. We're thrilled."

Collingwood are fourth on the ladder and play the sixth-placed Brisbane Lions at the MCG on Saturday night.

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