COLIN Garland says he felt for the “whole club and supporters” on the back of a trying season, but he is adamant the arrival of Paul Roos as coach has given the club renewed optimism.

Garland, who finished second in the 2013 best and fairest and missed just one match this year, said it was tough to sit in the crowd when he was sidelined with an injured ankle against North Melbourne in round 18 this year.  

“I remember when I was injured this year, I sat in the crowd and I dreaded going to the game and that’s not the way footy should be,” he told melbournefc.com.au.  

“People work during the week – no one likes going to work – and then you’ve got your footy club [to watch] on the weekend. People should [be excited] until the next week and that’s what someone like Paul Roos brings to the club.”

Garland said Roos’ ability to bring the club together would be an attribute. But he added that players needed to step up significantly next year.

“He’s been there and is such a well respected person – he’s played [more than] 300 games and developed such a great culture at Sydney. He’s commentated on the game and has a real understanding of the game,” he said.

“From a playing sense, he has a lot of responsibility on the playing group and gives a lot of power and trust to those guys. That’s something we may have lacked, especially from a playing group perspective.

“Trust between the coaching staff or club or playing group – I think there’s been a real disconnect. I think Paul will be able to bring that to the club.

“Paul seems like a really down to earth guy, but he can’t play centre half-forward or centre half-back for us. It’s still going to be the responsibility of the players to get us out of where we’re at, but from a whole club feel, I think it’s fantastic for the club.”