Brenton Sanderson's first act as Adelaide coach was to hire a man he beat for the job, Mark Bickley.

Sanderson said defeated senior coaching candidate Bickley would remain at the Crows next season as his "right hand man".

"That was the first phone call I made after I spoke to my family, I rang Bicks last night," Sanderson told reporters in Adelaide on Tuesday.

"He's critical to our success and he's going to be a great help to me.

"It was a difficult phone call to make as I know he was disappointed but, to his credit, he's a quality individual ... and he's on board for next year."

Sanderson joined the Crows after their worst season and two years of missing the finals.

But the former Geelong assistant expected a rapid rise.

"I was very bullish about the list, I think success will be a very quick spike at this football club," he said.

"I have seen how quickly things can change with a new senior coach coming on board.

"I think we will see some great improvement in this footy club very, very quickly."

Sanderson said a priority was giving the Crows a harder physical edge.

"I want to coach a side that is physical and I want to coach a group of men that want to give themselves to the team," he said.

"They are probably the two things that I will probably push harder than most with the playing group.

"But at the same time I think we have got to focus on a number of game plan fundamentals which will make us a premiership team.

"To be honest, I have admired Adelaide from afar for a long time, the way they go about things on field and off field.

"But probably the level of competitiveness has probably dropped away in just the last 18 months."

Sanderson was confident he could deliver a game style that won premierships.

"Sometimes the most entertaining football doesn't win you premierships," he said.

"I want to deliver on a game that not just makes the eight, not just finishes in the top four, but I want to deliver on a game plan that wins you premierships."

But the 37-year-old said he wouldn't simply bring Geelong's proven style to the Crows.

"It would be foolish for me to come here today with the Geelong play book and put an Adelaide Crows sticker over the top," he said.

"What is really important is that we play a way that suits us, but also too, wins premierships.

"That might be a little bit different to Geelong but in essence there is a certain way you have to play if you are going to win in this competition."

Geelong coach Chris Scott said Sanderson rejected an offer to remain at the Cats until their season finished.

"He'll take a pretty uncompromising approach to his position at Adelaide and it's another side we have to worry about even more next year," Scott told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

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