COACH Paul Roos says a good recent record over Essendon will count for little when the two sides go head-to-head at the MCG on Saturday.

Melbourne has won four of its past five matches against Essendon and has only lost once to the Bombers since 2009.

The Demons have won those four matches by an average of 14.75 points.

Yet Essendon’s only win over Melbourne, since 2009, was by a whopping 148 points in round two, 2013.

Roos said it was important to keep it all in perspective, after Essendon was thrashed by 110 points last round against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

“We had a belting as well from Essendon over the course of that [period],” he said from Casey Fields, where Melbourne was training on Thursday.

“We played well last year, but they got off to a good start.

“[Essendon coach] Hirdy (James Hird) will be preparing for our best and also looking at ways they can exploit what we do – and it’s the same the other way.”

Meanwhile, Roos said he felt for Essendon captain and 2012 Brownlow Medal winner Jobe Watson, who will be out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

“He’s been the face of the footy club and no one wants to see him play like that,” he said.

“I sensed there was a reason after the [St Kilda] game that there must have been something dramatically wrong with him, because that’s not the way he plays his footy.

“Whether Watson’s in or out, we’ll prepare for their absolute best and they’ve got some high quality players like [Brendon] Goodard, [David] Zaharakis, [Brent] Stanton and [Dyson] Heppell, so their midfield is a very, very good midfield.

“We think our midfield is improving and getting better and it’s another test for us this week.”