CHIEF executive Peter Jackson says the appointment of a new senior coach is “absolutely critical” to the club’s future prospects. 

“People are making comments that we need an established coach and that’s probably right, but some of those people might be doing other things at the moment. We’ve got the beauty of a bit of time on our hands at the moment to do it right,” he told ABC radio.

“The senior coach is an absolutely critical position, but I think that equally critical is just the whole culture and leadership of the club. A CEO can’t do that on his own – no way in the world. It’s going to have to have some people come in at the right levels and show the leadership and culture.

“One of the things that surprises me about Melbourne footy club is that when you look around the club, the best analogy is that I can use is the playing list – you don’t walk into that locker room and find a Luke Hodge or an Adam Goodes or someone like that, a mentor or leader within the playing list.”

Jackson said he didn’t see why people were surprised by his comment last week, when he labelled Melbourne an “impediment” to the competition.

“The competition does not want Melbourne where it is at the moment,” he said.

“It wants Melbourne up and about as part of a vibrant competition, and everyone benefits if Melbourne Football Club is stronger, including the club itself.”

But despite assistance from the AFL, Jackson said the League was not providing “overbearing influence”.

“They’re providing great support. I’ve been in daily contact with the key executives and keeping them abreast of things. They’re not pulling the reins of driving the cart, but they’re going to put some support in, which is financial support that they’re going to underwrite. The full conditions are yet to be outlined,” Jackson said.

“They have obligations to the other 17 clubs, and that’s to make sure they don’t pour money into a big black hole. They have that obligation and in that sense, they’re the major financier of the club. They’ll want to see the composition of the board, and we’ll go through the process to create a new board and they’ll have a say in it.

“I’ll put out a plan - they’ll want me to deliver it and they’ll support me to do that.”

Reflecting on last Monday’s departure of Mark Neeld, Jackson acknowledged there was a bit of a “shock about it all” among the club when he made way for interim coach Neil Craig last Monday.

“I think the whole club handled it rather well,” he said.

“Even though people expected to some extent that it might happen soon, when it did happen, it was still a bit of a shock.

“I think possibly unlike Melbourne’s way of doing business in the past, no one knew it was going to happen on Monday, so that shock was a little bit greater. But by the afternoon, I think people had come to terms with it and moved on. It was almost a sense of freedom to be honest.”

Jackson said it was a bit sad to come into the club and see young players and staff “a bit lost”.

“I’d hate to think kids, who were really good draftees, feel like they’re having their career wasted – that’s the emotional part of it for me,” he said.

“That’s the part that attracts you, being one person, to try and improve the club.

“After the time comes, we don’t improve and they start thinking whether they’re going to stay.”

But Jackson said the club had appreciated some straight talking since his appointment.

“I think you’ll find that most of the staff and players – I’m sure all of them – are grateful for a bit of leadership and direction, and a bit of frankness. People just want to know what needs to happen – they don’t want spin,” he said.

“You could excuse Melbourne over a journey of having spun a few stories about where it’s at and where it’s going. People get a bit tired of that after a while. Players get a little bit concerned that they start to believe that for a while.”

He said there would be an increased emphasis on development for the rest of the season.

“We haven’t necessarily had our best team on the park this year, but it’s important for the members and the prospective coaches – everybody – just to see what these guys might be able to do,” Jackson said.

Jackson said it wasn’t all grim at the club.  

“I’m a little bit dispassionate about it in the sense that I know that there is a job to be done. It’s pretty obvious to me what needs to be done, and I can get on and do it without being caught up in all the history of it all,” Jackson said. 

“I don’t think this footy club’s a basket case by any stretch of the imagination. I think the playing list – there is a nucleus there of players and we’ll form a competitive team going forward. They need the right development and they need the right senior coach.

“I think the club can be restructured from a financial point of view, which will get it on an even keel. All that can happen relatively quickly and when we do, I think we’ll move forward with our on field performances. I don’t look at it as being grim, I look at it as being a pretty decent opportunity for a group of people, who want to get in and rebuild this club.”