RUCKMAN Mark Jamar says Paul Roos’ management style – his ability to relate and work with people – was one of the major differences he noticed when the premiership coach came to Melbourne.

Jamar said Roos was straight down the line and was a no-nonsense character who had made a big impact on him.   

“Just the way the man treats people, it’s superb. There’s no bulls*** with him, he just tells you what needs to be said and you cop it and you address it,” he told Dee TV.

“But he helps you address it and there are a lot of resources around the club now with our coaching staff and fitness staff to help address the things you need to work on.

“I’m very grateful Roosy came on board and obviously extended his contract so I’m very grateful and I think the club’s in very good hands.”

Jamar said it was critical coaches worked with players and formed strong rapports. 

“I think it’s huge. [You] don’t need an expert to realise the way it was going a few years prior wasn’t working. It’s like anything, if you keep getting told ‘you’re no good’, well you’re going to start believing it, but when you’ve got people that believe in you, or they say ‘well, no, you’ve just got to get better at it’ – then that gives you an opportunity straight away to go and work on something and that’s the way the club’s set up,” he said.

“We’ve got two, three sometimes, trainings a week now and they’re opportunities to get better at the things you need to perform on game day.

“Roosy had a lot of frustration with a lot of our losses and that came through in a lot of our meetings – he was quite hard on a lot of us. But you need to do that to actually see how much it’s hurting someone, so you actually dig deep and get better, so you don’t let these problems continue down the track.”

Jamar said he felt rejuvenated from Roos’ influence at the club.

“It’s just given me the confidence and the want to keep going,” he said.

“When things aren’t working out, you sometimes may doubt what the future looks like but the last 12 months now, I’ve been pumped ...  I’ve got the confidence in myself and hopefully the club have confidence in me,” he said.

“I’m very keen to play for this club as long as I can and they’ll let me know when I’m no longer required. But until then, I’m gonna keep having a crack and I hope it’s for a few more years yet.”

The 31-year-old said he was pleased with his output this year, given the past few seasons have been challenging.

“I put together 20 games altogether, three in the VFL then I played 17 once I got into the senior side. So there are 20 games – I haven’t done that since 2010 for whatever reason,” he said.

“I was really happy with the output. [I was] disappointed that I didn’t get to do much pre-season because it probably cost me in the last month of the year.

“I was pretty tired and most people probably noticed that I wasn’t moving as freely and I was gasping for air a lot of the time. But to put 20 games together, after missing all the pre-season really, has given me a lot of confidence moving forward.”

Jamar said it had been a rollercoaster ride at the club – he and Nathan Jones are the only current Demons to have played in a Melbourne final.

“Look, the past is the past and I think when Dean Bailey was coach, the year he got sacked after the bad loss, I think we were only a couple of games out of finals,” he said.

“[We] probably weren’t actually going that bad – for whatever reason we had a few bad losses and they made the moves they made. But then you get another coach come in and then it’s selling you the excitement and the future success that’s going to happen. But that’s all talk ... you’re up and about again and when the reality hits, you’re down.

“It has been a rollercoaster but I think there’s a true belief now amongst everyone.”

Being Melbourne’s current longest serving player, Jamar said he appreciates it more every day.

“The older you get, the more you appreciate it,” he said.

“I probably feel like I’ve been here six, seven years really, but it’s been 13 now so I’m glad that I’m a bit more wiser now.

“I still don’t read the game as well as most blokes – I still don’t know what to say at certain times and a lot of things don’t come naturally to me.

“My approach is more think about it, analyse it, come back and say what I feel. But you don’t always get that opportunity in footy, so I still feel like I’m [young] because the list is so young, so it makes you feel younger. You just keep coming back, you just keep fronting up. You can work through anything, if you just keep trying – that’s what I reckon.”