MELBOURNE chairman Glen Bartlett turned his attention to next season at the club’s Best and Fairest on Monday night, with the Demons preparing to bounce back in 2020.

While there’s no understating the disappointment of 2019, Bartlett said he is keen to learn from the wrongdoings and push forward as a collective.

“It’s obviously been a really, really tough year,” he said.

“It has been a disappointing year, a frustrating year for supporters, and all of us involved.

“We know as a club we didn’t live up to expectations and the people in this room have ridden every bump with us.

“We fell just short on too many occasions.”

While there were several factors that influenced Melbourne’s performances this season, Bartlett didn’t want to bring any of that up when addressing the crowd at Crown Palladium.

“I’m not going to go into the combination of reasons and what’s been reviewed, because on a night like tonight they will just sound like excuses,” he said.

“We aim to be a club of no excuses – where the best excuse is no excuse.”

The club’s failings throughout the season must be used to help the Dees improve, but it’s equally as important not to dwell on the negatives.

“We know this competition is brutal and to rise again, we must evolve and learn from the lessons and the realities we faced this year,” Bartlett said.

“We expect to respond and respond hard, but that will only come through change and plenty of hard work and sticking together.

“From tomorrow, it’s all focus on operation 2020.”

Bartlett’s focus has switched to next season and he is confident the people in place at the club will be able to turn things around quickly.

“The mark of a great club is how you respond in the face of adversity when you’re challenged – how you stick together and work through it,” he said.

“I’ve been buoyed already by the work led by Josh Mahoney, head of football operations, our senior coach, Goody (Simon Goodwin), supported by Perty (Gary Pert) and the Board.

“A very big thank you on behalf of the Board to these three leaders for what they’re doing on a day-to-day basis and I can assure you the club’s in very, very good hands.”

The club’s chairman signed off his speech in strong fashion, instilling fans with confidence for what is to come.

“We are in this together, and as I said, the mark of a great club is how you respond in the face of adversity,” Bartlett said.

“Great clubs stay strong, stay focused and stay united.

“Great clubs respond, and to that, we say bring on 2020.”