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Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox has admitted the culture at the embattled AFL club “isn’t perfect” while apologising for the actions of the five players suspended for failing to uphold club standards at a Melbourne hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.

Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice and James Jordon were stood down by the Swans this week for breaching the club’s standards, including drinking and staying out late after last Sunday’s win over Essendon in Melbourne.

Separate to that, Victoria police have also said they are investigating an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne. No one has been arrested or charged in relation to that allegation.

The Guardian does not suggest that any of the players are being accused of sexual assault, and it is reported that none of the banned players have been formally interviewed by police.

Cox, along with club captain Callum Mills, faced the media on Friday morning and the pair repeatedly knocked back questioning around the details of the night in question, citing the ongoing police investigation.

But Cox confirmed he was not in the hotel room at the centre of the scandal, after having been out for dinner with club staff earlier in the night. The coach added that he was “unaware” if there was anyone else connected to the club in the room.

“I cannot comment on what happened in the room, it is a police investigation,” Cox said. “So we’re still trying to find out information as well.”

The club later issued a statement to confirm their in-house investigation found only the five players who have been suspended were in the hotel room.

“The Sydney Swans can confirm that all investigations carried out by the club have consistently indicated that the only representatives of the club in the room central to the police investigation were the five players who have been stood down,” the statement read.

“We have every reason to consider that reports to the contrary are simply false.”

Cox said the club’s culture has “taken a massive hit”, and vowed to work hard to regain the community’s trust and respect.

“We all have women in our lives we deeply love. I would like to express the respect for women is of the highest priority for both myself personally and for our football club,” Cox said.

“We have some fantastic women working in our football club … and our thoughts are with them and I apologise to them, along with the women in the community, for the actions of the players. We are extremely disappointed at the actions of the players. And the sanctions imposed by the board show how serious we take these matters.

“We’re going to work … as hard as we possibly can to get the trust back from the community, to get the culture where we desire to be, where we once had been.”

More to follow.