St Kilda president Rod Butterss has called a public truce in his war of words with former coach Grant Thomas.

The pair has been at loggerheads all week amidst fears their very public spat is proving a distraction for the team and new coach Ross Lyon with the Saints in danger of missing the finals for the first time since 2003 with just four wins from ten rounds - ahead of Sunday's Telstra Dome clash against the Kangaroos.

Former best friends, the pair fell out over a $1 million loan Butterss gave to Thomas to enable the former coach to purchase a house with Butterss now suing Thomas to reclaim the money.

And their feud escalated this week with Butterss accusing Thomas of undermining the club by continuing to have contact with the players.

Thomas then asked Butterss to a private meeting to sort out their differences but Butterss refused, telling Melbourne radio station SEN that he feared for his safety if he met Thomas in private.

But just as the feud between the pair threatened to escalate out of control Butterss has sort to minimise the damage to the club he has led since 2001.

"Passion is a great strength of any club but as we have seen this past week it can also be a tough companion as well," Butterss said on Sunday, prior to the game against the Kangaroos.

"But one thing I can assure you is that matters relating between me and the former coach will remain private."

"From now on there won't be another word said in public by me on this matter."

Butterss used his speech at the official president's luncheon to again defend his decision to sack Thomas as coach at the end of last year despite the former Saints' player and football director having led the club into the finals three years in a row in 2004-2006 - including preliminary finals in 2004-05.

"We (the St Kilda) board felt there was a widening gap between the on-field performance of the St Kilda Football Club and our main on-field competitors - principally (the grand finalists of the past two years) Sydney and West Coast," Butterss said.