Hawthorn Coach Alastair Clarkson has attributed a couple of stern words to Josh Gibson upon his arrival at the club in 2010 as the turning point in the triple premiership star’s career.

Clarkson’s comments came in light of the two-time Peter Crimmins Medallist revealing on Sunday night’s ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ that the coach implored him to “fit in or f#%* off”.

Speaking from a coaching conference in Minneapolis, Clarkson said that Gibson needed to discover some consistency in his life throughout his early days as a Hawk.

“Josh was a great competitor for us, but one of the things he needed to do (when he arrived at the club) was to get some stability in his life,” Clarkson said.

“In my view, it’s very difficult to live that life where you are going out on a consistent basis.

“It is an enjoyable lifestyle, in terms of interesting people and colourful and you’ve always got something to do, but, in terms of consistency and being a top-level athlete week to week, we said that he needed to change his ways.”

Clarkson said he was not alone in acknowledging the necessity of the firm advice. 

“It wasn’t just me, there was a series of his teammates that needed to say that to him too.

“Because he wanted to be respected by the organisation and by the coach, but the one he wanted the respect the most from his was from his teammates and his peers.”

Gibson retired at the end of the 2017 season having played 225 games, and winning three premierships, two Peter Crimmins Medals and an All Australian honour.