Cairns, who took over in early 2015 after Mark Knobel stood aside, said he could no longer dedicate the time required to the role.

The dual premiership defender guided Wangaratta to consecutive seventh-placed finishes but the Magpies showed solid improvement in Cairns’ time at the helm.

After winning six matches in 2015, the Magpies won eight games, plus a draw, this season to only fall out of the top five with a one-point loss to Wodonga in the final round.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the job but I have three little kids and a business which command a fair bit of time,” Cairns said.

“If you want to do the job properly, you need to put the time into it.

“Moving forward, I probably won’t have the time to put into it.”

Assistant coach Michael Newton and Dean Stone, who has coached the Magpies’ thirds, are believed to be in the mix to replace Cairns.

Wangaratta president Col McClounan was tight-lipped on who Cairns’ replacement might be but said the Magpies hoped to have a replacement “sooner rather than later”.

“We’re working through all that at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve got a bit of work to do towards making an announcement for next year, we’re not quite there yet.

“There’s always discussions around what you’re looking for in terms of playing, non-playing coaches.”

McClounan paid tribute to Cairns and hoped he would stay on at Norm Minns Oval in “some capacity”.

“He’s done a terrific job the last two years to steady the ship,” he said.

While McClounan was reluctant to discuss candidates, he admitted former Melbourne forward Newton, who kicked 42 goals in nine matches this season, was in the mix.

“He’s contracted for next year and he certainly comes into your thinking because he’s got great experience,” he said.

“We’d expect we will get a lot of leadership from Michael because the work he’s done on and off the ground has been terrific.”