SIMON Goodwin acknowledges it will feel somewhat odd lining up against his former team Essendon where he spent four seasons as an assistant coach.

With the Demons taking on the Bombers at the MCG on Saturday, Goodwin said it was an interesting situation coming up against a team, where he had intimate knowledge, having been an assistant coach at the Dons from 2011-14.

“It does feel a bit strange. I’ve got a good insight into how they go about their footy, but at the same time, they have changed things around a little bit,” he told Dee TV.

“Knowing the players individually and knowing how they tick, and how they operate, I know that they are going to be a group that responds. I’ve seen it before with them and they are very capable of turning their form around quickly.

“We’re going to prepare for their best footy and the footy that they’ve produced over the last three or four seasons. We’re under no illusions that it’s going to be a pretty tough game.”

Goodwin said he was fully aware of what Essendon was capable of and was not falling into the trap that it would be an easy result, given the Saints thrashed the Dons by 110 points last week.

“We know that Essendon is coming off a poor loss, but at the same time, we know how much quality they’ve got in their team, and they can turn that form around quickly,” he said.

“It is about us and how we play and what we truly value – and that’s the way we’ll go into the game.”

Goodwin said the Demons were frustrated with their performance against West Coast at TIO Stadium last Saturday and were determined to get back on track in round 15.

“We were pretty disappointed with the way we played, even though we were playing a really good side in West Coast,” he said.

“We were disappointed defensively with how we went about the game.

“We went away from the things that we really do value and the things that we’ve seen from this group over the last four or five weeks. So it’s important for us as a footy club to get back on track this week.”