Nathan Buckley has called on Collingwood to harden up, conceding the side’s effort is the poorest it has ever been in his stint at the AFL club.
Buckley, who signed a contract extension earlier this year, reaffirmed his belief on Monday that he is the right man to coach the Magpies.
But the fifth-year mentor, who has come under increasing pressure this season, added he will be judged on wins and losses.
The 14th-placed Magpies have won just four of their past 18 games, with serious issues surfacing again in a 15-point loss to Carlton at the MCG.
“For the first time in my time at the club we’re picking and choosing a little bit on the field,” Buckley told Fox Footy.
“You can’t win games of footy when you’re like that.
“We need to harden up as a playing group. Harden up as a coaching group and harden up as a club if we’re going to get anything out of this year.”
Buckley added he’d been lying awake at night, trying to come up with some solutions.
“(In previous seasons) we have been gritty and we still see ourselves as a hard-nosed, contested-ball side,” he said.
“But our recent performances haven’t showed that.
“You’re always looking for answers .. the answer is always pretty simple.
“Work harder. Put your head down.”
The Magpies are unlikely to feature in finals after a woeful 2-5 start to the year but Buckley denied this season was already a write-off.
“We’re still searching for what we need right now. Going into next week’s game,” he said.
“We put our best 22 out on the park every week. It hasn’t been good enough.
“We need to start winning games of footy … when the music stops, that (win-loss record) is all that counts in this caper.”
Asked if his confidence had waned, Buckley replied “not at all. Not in the playing group either”.
Buckley suggested injuries and inexperience were no excuse.
“That is not something to lean on,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eddie McGuire says he briefly contemplated stepping down as Collingwood president following last weekend’s upset.
McGuire, who has been the Magpies figurehead for 18 years, was left questioning his own position after the match.
“I haven’t been that laid low from the footy for a long, long time,” McGuire said on Triple M on Monday.
“I was completely shattered as were our supporters who were giving me their honest and frank opinion.
“You question yourself … can you go through it again? Have you got any more ideas?
“I don’t know if I could impact on the club.”
McGuire only rediscovered his conviction following a discussion with his children on Sunday.
McGuire made it clear he would look at quitting if he wasn’t “good enough” or contributing.
Tricky
Guest
Yeah wasn't serious Richo, poor joke on my behalf
richo
Guest
AFL stepping in and demanding positive results? Gee we get some rubbish being written on here.
Tricky
Guest
Just had a look at our fixture for the rest of the year, we've got 2 line ball games Richmond & Freo (however they'll probably improve) rounds 19 & 14. Apart from that we can pencil in a loss for the rest of the season we might be looking at 2 & 20, wonder if that'd be enough to make some changes around the joint?
Tricky
Guest
Oh yeah PD our results speak for themselves
Tricky
Guest
“We put our best 22 out on the park every week. It hasn’t been good enough." And then in the same conversation Asked if his confidence had waned, Buckley replied “not at all. Not in the playing group either”. To me these two statements are not in agreement with each other, so which is it bucks? Are we not good enough or are you still confident in the playing group? We know you still are confident in yourself in fact the word would be cocky. Do you even listen to yourself? There could not be anything more conflicting than what you have said here Our membership numbers have dropped 20000 from last year, the crowds have dropped a little as well for Collingwood games this is getting serious. Any bets on when the AFL will step in and demand some positive results?
dan in devon
Guest
am glad to hear Buckley speak some common sense , instead of quoting stats verbatim. The best thing he can do now is abandon his zone defence and adopt a man-on-man game and challenge the players to win the individual battle. As for Bucks being our greatest ever player - who cares? How about the greatest ever team!? Thats the challenge in team sports.
Axle an the Guru
Guest
It was always a mistake to sack a Premiership coach for a novice, this is what happens and that's why club administrations DONT do it, Collingwood should have been a power for years, but when you appoint a big headed twit to the top job, you will never get a team to play to its best abilities, McGuire is getting exactly what bad decisions deserve, if he wants to keep his job with credibility then he need to show that he deserves to remain President and make the right call, sack Buckley.
Axle an the Guru
Guest
Millane was a much MUCH better footballer than Buckley.
one armed scissor
Guest
The pies need more emotion on the field & less rhetoric off it. The footy world always drinks the pies cool aid for the first month then reality sinks in and its back to drinking dish water. They'll play with flair once they cant make the finals or in the last month of footy. They'll beat some teams as well & the cycle will repeat next year again
Richo
Guest
shaping that way...got a bit of work still to do to compete with another Pies legend, Tony Shaw
Samantha
Roar Rookie
Shaping up to be one of its worst coaches ever.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Such a deep and meaningful coaching philosophy from one of the Great Minds of the AFL.
Knoxy
Guest
Disagree Dougie. I've been a Pies supporter since the 90s and I saw Buckley do all of those thing plenty of times.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Yeah, I like your thinking Josh. Maybe he could try, "It's not winning or losing that matters, it's just about giving it your best. ... can you please just give me some effort?"
josh
Roar Rookie
Buckley should also try, "Go out there and win"
paul
Guest
Good Lord. That is all.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Yeah, I'd say Burns is the only one of that group with credibility as an assistant coach.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
How many times did he turn in match-winning performances in big games? How often did he break a game open with critical goals, or crash a pack to take contested marks, or win clearance after clearance at critical times, or lay crunching tackles, or run with the flight of the ball to desperately spill a marking contest, or give a shepherd, or turn a game? Answer = Not often. I'll agree he was Collingwood's best kick ever and one of the best kicks the game has seen.
Richo
Guest
Burns keeps getting spoken of as a potential senior coach and he has ambitions, not being helped much at the moment though. Not sure why Robert Harvey is with us as he doesnt seem to make much of a difference to anything and Rocca couldnt help Cloke with his game so that doesnt help. Maybe Eddie could play the trick he learned about 16 years ago and poach a coach from the west?
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Maybe Bucks should've hardened-up and surrounded himself with talented assistant coaches, instead of ex-teammates Burns, Rocca and Lockyer, and the quietly spoken Robert Harvey.