ADELAIDE caretaker coach Mark Bickley says he'll use the remaining six games of the season to decide whether he'll put forward his name for the permanent role.

Bickley was appointed as caretaker coach of the club after Neil Craig resigned from the position, which he held for seven years on Monday.

Chief executive Steven Trigg identified the dual Crows premiership captain as the best equipped of the club's assistant coaches to become interim coach but denied he had "the inside running", saying he'd given Bickley no guarantees.

Bickley, who played 272 for Adelaide between 1991-2003, returned to West Lakes at the end of 2008 after a stint in the media, but has previously never publicly expressed a desire to be a senior AFL coach.

On Tuesday, in his first press conference as caretaker coach he confirmed he had an ambition to coach at the elite level, but said six weeks in the top job would help him decide if he was ready for the full-time role.

"It would be silly for me to sit up here and make the statement now that I'd love to do it full-time when there's still more information to be gained," Bickley said.

"I don’t see a rush, or feel a need to say that I want to do it right now.

"It's a six-week period. For me it's an opportunity to be a coach in my own right …  I haven't done that yet. I see it as an opportunity and a chance to put some skills that have been gathered and honed over the last couple of years to use.

"At the end of that period, it makes a lot of sense to me to sit down and have a think about where to from here; whether that's down the path of yes, I believe I can do this and do this well, or no, I think I need more time."

As recently as last month, Trigg said none of the club's assistant coaches, including Bickley, were ready to step into a senior coaching role.

"I think Steven was basing that on something I said when I was asked about [my coaching aspirations] in an interview," Bickley said of Trigg's remarks.

"I've never been one to pronounce that I'm going to be a coach, or put myself out there. You have to understand that at the time … we had a situation where we had a senior coach who was under intense scrutiny and whose future was uncertain, so for me to come out and say, 'I'm ready to go' would seem a little bit silly.

"And my philosophy has always been to [coach] and do it well, you need to be very good at it and I couldn't say when I started coaching that I was going to be great at it."

Bickley admitted to having mixed emotions about the circumstances in which he attained the top job, but vowed to try to guide the 14th-placed club out of its current malaise during his tenure, no matter how short.

The former midfielder described himself as "less intense and demanding" than his predecessor Craig, and said the disgruntled Crows' faithful should see changes both at the selection and on the field in the coming weeks.

"We will do some things differently, and that's something Steven Trigg has impressed upon me," he said.

"It's not that I don't believe that what we've been doing is the correct way to go about it. We still have beliefs that a lot of the stuff we do is good.

"It's very difficult to, after doing something all pre-season and all through the year, then rub it off the board and start again."

The embattled Craig resigned as coach to relieve the pressure on his under-performing team, which has managed only four wins this season and is on track to record its worst-ever finish.

Bickley was optimistic Craig's resignation would trigger a response from the players, who he said were remorseful for their part in the former coach's departure, including the dismal 103-point loss to St Kilda last Friday night that proved the tipping point.

"We've seen Neil put his heart and soul into coaching this footy club," he said.

"So for it to finish the way it has … and to see the resignation in Neil that he wasn't going to continue doing what he loved doing, of course the players would feel they've made some contribution towards that."

Bickley will take the helm for the first time against Port Adelaide in Balfours Showdown XXXI on Sunday.

Midfielder Brad Symes will miss the clash against his former team after suffering a suspected broken jaw in a collision with Nick Riewoldt, which saw the Saints skipper receive a one-match ban for rough conduct.

Bickley said it was important his team showed character, and responded to a "tumultuous" few days with a spirited showing against the Power.

"Last time we played [against St Kilda] we were humiliated on a national stage," he said.

"We need to get that ultra-competitiveness [back]. We need to make sure when people part with their money to come watch us play they feel like they've seen a team that is trying to produce something for our supporters."