Former Port Adelaide assistant coach Phil Walsh has returned to the AFL club after five years at West Coast.

He will replace Power midfield coach Shaun Rehn, who will not be offered a new contract.

Rehn had been in the role for two years.

Port’s coaching director Alan Richardson said it had been a tough decision to let Rehn go.

“The reality is a highly-experienced coach in Phil Walsh came out of contract at West Coast and indicated that he wanted to return to Adelaide and come back here to Port Adelaide, where he spent several years as a highly-rated assistant and strategist,” Richardson said.

Walsh, who has been at West Coast since 2009 in the role of Strategy and Innovations coach, returns to Alberton where he was an assistant coach from 1999 to 2008.

During his previous time at Port Adelaide, Walsh was one of the architects behind the club’s historic premiership win in 2004 and was also a key contributor in the Power’s rise to the Grand Final in 2007.

Walsh came out of contract at West Coast and indicated that he wanted to return to  Port Adelaide.

Richardson said Walsh was highly regarded at Alberton and remained friends with many of the older players.

“He spent many successful years here and some of our more experienced players like Kane Cornes and Dom Cassisi have kept in regular contact with him,” Richardson said.

“Walsh is an outstanding football person and a coach highly regarded within the football industry so we feel he can add a significant new dimension to our existing coaching structure.”