MELBOURNE faces a massive task to finish off the season in a positive fashion after Sunday's disappointing loss to the Bulldogs, according to coach Paul Roos.
The Demons have matches against Carlton, Fremantle and the GWS Giants and will be hoping to add to their six wins of the season.
Roos said the coaches have to get the players to refocus quickly on the job at hand against the bottom-placed Blues at the MCG on Sunday.
"We have to get them up now and make sure they do finish of the year," Roos said.
"Clearly our guys are getting really tired – it's something we tried to address during the week by giving them a couple of days off.
"It hasn't worked this week, but we have to get ourselves up to play Carlton this week – it's a really important game for us."
The Demons conceded 14 goals to two in the first half against the Bulldogs and after a positive third quarter, let the Bulldogs slam on another 10 goals in the final term.
Roos said the last three weeks were not only important for the players’ morale, but also for the club’s fans, as they need to be shown that his players are on the right track and continually improving.
"The next three weeks are really critical," he said.
"We know where we are heading - the third quarter reinforces that.
"We are aware that with a young group, we have quite a few injuries to our seconds and that their energy levels are on the edge.
"We need to get up and play a hell of a lot better for the last three games."