Former national wicketkeeper Andre Coley says he is not averse to applying for the Jamaica Scorpions coaching job at the end of this first-class cricket season.

Coley, the 44-year-old former West Indies senior team assistant coach, is three-quarters of the way through his current two-year contract as head coach of Windward Islands Volcanoes.

“It is always something that ultimately I would have wanted to do — be the coach of my country,” he told the Jamaica Observer during the West Indies four-day contest between the Scorpions and the visiting Volcanoes at Sabina Park.

“I still have six months on my contract with the Windwards, which will be done in June. Any kind of decision like that will be something I would have to discuss with my family.

“I guess when that time comes around, if they decide to make the application process open then it’s maybe something I’d think about,” added the Jamaican, who guided the Volcanoes to the regional Super50 crown in his first season in charge.

The 2018-19 regional first-class season is scheduled to close in March.

Courtney Francis, the Scorpions’ chief executive officer, has already said the franchise will be seeking someone for the permanent role when the contract period for interim head coach Robert Haynes expires at the end of April.

Haynes, whose temporary stint effectively began January 1, recently told the Observer he intends to apply for the permanent job.

Haynes, 54, is a former Jamaica leg-spin bowler, and was one time a member of the West Indies selection panel.

Coley said Haynes is a mentor to him, and introduced him to first-class cricket coaching after his playing days.

“My first interaction at first- class level as coach came when he [Haynes] was coach of Jamaica and he had asked me to come and assist him,” said Coley, who played seven first-class matches.

He served as senior men’s assistant for a number of years, spanning tenures of head coaches Ottis Gibson, Phil Simmons and Stuart Law.

Coley guided the West Indies Under-19 at the 2010 World Cup, and was a member of the coaching staff at the High Performance Centre, which was geared at developing young cricketers.

He was also assistant to West Indies former women’s team coach Sherwin Campbell.

Coley acknowledged that acquiring a job which would allow him to be based in Jamaica is an attractive prospect.

“Obviously, I’ve been away from home, in and out for a few years now,” he told the Observer.

“Being closer to home or to family is always something that anybody would prefer. The opportunity had come up to coach the Windwards and I thought it was an interesting challenge, and it’s been good spending the last year and a half there,” Coley reasoned.

He led the Volcanoes to the Super50 title in early 2018 — only months after he took up that coaching role.

They finished fifth in the four-day format that season.