CLOSE but not close enough is no longer acceptable at Melbourne as its improvement continues to gather pace.

Although Melbourne coach Paul Roos said the footy team had made "enormous strides" this season, his unwillingness to be content with competitive performances is becoming evident.

"You want to win," Roos said. "You don't want to come off the ground losing."

After conceding the first four goals of the game, the Demons hit the front during the third quarter and then once again in the last.

However, Port Adelaide was able to win some crucial stoppages, kick a steadying goal and run out with the game.  

It's the third game this season – along with Greater Western Sydney in round two and the Western Bulldogs in round eight – where the Demons have hit the front in the last quarter but lost the game.

"We understand we've got to climb the ladder but again it gets frustrating when you are in a winning position against the best team in the competition," Roos said.

Roos agreed it was a balancing act between praising the players' efforts and their obvious improvement, and pushing for a quality performance to last the whole game.

"It's definitely a balancing act as a coach and as a coaching group," Roos said. "We've got to educate but we have also got to be hard on them when we think there are mistakes made."

The biggest losing margin Melbourne has suffered since round two is 32 points but it has won just three games in that time.

Roos indicated that gallant efforts were starting to wear thin on the players and coaching staff.

"I get impatient and I'm sure they are as well," Roos said.

However, Roos is pleased overall with the direction the team is heading and put the loss down to being jumped early – when Port Adelaide kicked four goals to none – and the first 10 minutes of the last quarter when Melbourne kicked just one goal from four chances.

"After the game it's pretty raw because you come up to win," Roos said. "To play against a team that has lost just one game and to do really, really well and play some good footy for the majority of the game is a huge step forward [but it] depends how quickly you want to get to where you want to get to."

He said the team was still developing the capacity to play the way it wanted to play for the entire game.

Roos saved special mention for Dom Tyson, Christian Salem and Jay Kennedy-Harris who all arrived at the club this season.

Tyson and Salem joined the club as a result of Melbourne trading pick number two to Greater Western Sydney and Roos said it was likely to prove a win-win trade for both clubs.

He also criticised an unnamed opposition recruiter who was quoted in a newspaper article as questioning the deal after round four. Roos said the recruiter should be sacked because he obviously didn't know what he was talking about.

Roos said the club was in a position where it needed to get two young midfielders into the club.

Facing Collingwood on Queen's Birthday next Monday, Melbourne will welcome back Chris Dawes from suspension and be confident of performing well.

The question is when can they turn those performances into wins.