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Jeff Kennett has hit out at 'experts' questioning Alastair Clarkson's AFL future at Hawthorn, a day after suggesting the Hawks' coach might be on borrowed time.

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has backed down from comments suggesting the AFL club will part ways with coach Alastair Clarkson at the end of his contract.

The Hawks slumped to a third-straight defeat on Sunday with a 43-point loss to Melbourne to sit 14th on the ladder.

In a letter to Hawthorn members on Monday, Kennett stressed the four-time premiership coach was still the right man to lead the club through a challenging period.

"We are witnessing at the moment, that the 'experts' come out from their burrows with all the solutions and calling into question whether our coach Alastair Clarkson is the man to turn our performances around," Kennett wrote.

"Let me say categorically, he is. Both Alastair and I like nothing more than a challenge and enjoy nothing more than proving those with opinions, but no responsibility, wrong.

"Just about every other club would give their right arm to have Alastair coach their team, but he is not going anywhere.

"I will remind you that coaches can only do so much - players must be up to the task."

That statement to supporters comes a day after Kennett had flagged Clarkson might leave the club at the end of the 2022 season.

"We won't be sacking Clarko; Clarko won't be sacking us. When the times comes, he and we will come to an agreed position and I suspect it will be at the end of this contract," Kennett told 3AW on Sunday.

After the defeat to the Demons, Clarkson hoped his time at Hawthorn would be a "little way off" coming to an end.

"I didn't even know he (Kennett) said anything. We'll work our way through that," Clarkson said.

Hawks premiership player Jordan Lewis last week questioned whether Clarkson had the enthusiasm to oversee a lengthy list transformation.