PAUL Roos says it was critical he brought in coaches he could trust and who knew how he operated, as he set up his new coaching structure at Melbourne.

Roos said the Demons simply had to get straight down to business in reviving the club’s fortunes.

“It’s certainly no disrespect to anyone in the past, but I was able to bring in my own crew. In the short period, we need to be able to get these guys up to speed pretty quickly. I didn’t want to be coaching the coaches as well,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

Roos said bringing in George Stone (midfield and strategy coach), Ben Mathews (midfield coach), Daniel McPherson (forward line coach) and Brett Allison (head of development) – four men he had worked with at the Swans, either as a coach, player or both – were key additions.

“Then to get some wise old heads from the Swans and guys that I’ve been associated with was really important for me, because they know what my expectations are and they know what the game plan is,” he said.

“They’ll be able to translate that message really quickly to the players. I think that will really fast track what we’re trying to do in the next period of time.”

Roos said it was also important to retain the services of backline coach Jade Rawlings and add a former Demon player, Brad Miller, to the mix.

“Jade [Rawlings], I’ve known for a fair while, so I was really [glad] that he was contracted. I was pleased that he was able to give us some real input into the internal workings of the footy club and the players. He’s got a great relationship with the defence,” Roos said.

“I thought it was really important – not that we did it for this reason – but to get an ex-Melbourne person back and Brad [Miller] was really keen to get involved. I always really admired him as a player and as a person, so to get him back involved in a development role, as a Melbourne person, that also understands that culture and history and what’s happened, was terrific.”

Roos added that Rawlings was likely to be his right-hand man in 2014.

“What we’ll probably do – and Jade has been here for a fair while – so we’ll probably just elevate his status a little bit in terms of coordinating with the medical staff and fitness staff,” he said.

“He knows those guys a lot better than we do. He’s been around for a long period of time and been at some clubs, so we’ll probably just give him some extra responsibility and the glue that’s going to hold the place together a bit.”

Reflecting on his first two months at Melbourne, Roos said it had been a vastly different scenario from when he first coached the Sydney Swans, when he took over from Rodney Eade as coach from round 13, 2002.

“You’re coming in and getting coaches and players, but having said that, most of the other coaches have been pretty tired towards the end of the year, but I’m feeling really fresh, so I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said.

“It’s been pretty hectic, but having said that, probably the fact that the players aren’t here, you’re able to focus on getting coaches, the trade period and going to the draft camp.

“With most of the players away, they’ve been good, popping in and out. Flying from Sydney to Melbourne – I’ve flown for the last however many years and also doing Fox flying down, so that doesn’t worry me at all.

“I’m really looking forward to the players arriving and getting stuck into training.”

Roos said he had been impressed with the personnel at Melbourne and was eager to help build the club across the board. Although he indicated it was natural to differentiate between the Demons and Swans, he said he wanted to be careful not to compare the two too often.

“We’ve got a big group from the Swans – we might have a swear jar, where we put a buck in the jar, if we mention the Swans too often – but they’re a benchmark team and a benchmark club,” he said.

“It’s almost about forgetting where we’ve come from and trying to come in here with no preconceived ideas. The great thing that I’ve seen is that it is a blank canvass. [Chief executive] Peter Jackson and Glen [Bartlett] have both [done] a terrific job and the staff that are still here – and that’s no disrespect to the staff that were here before – I’ve just found across the board, have been terrific.

“So I’m really looking forward to not only working with the coaches, but membership, sponsorship, media and the board. I’ve just seen quality people across the whole organisation and what I do know is that quality people drive success. I’m really confident with all of the people involved in the footy club.”

Meanwhile, Roos said the recent release of Melbourne’s fixture was not something he worried about, but he was adamant the club needed to make strong inroads in 2014.

“When you’re a young coach – in 2003 – you look at the draw and you’re trying to work out, ‘gee, we can win this and maybe that’s going to be a tough one’, but as you wind through your coaching career [your focus on the fixture changes],” he said.

“Towards the end of my time at Sydney, I didn’t really worry too much about it, so I must admit I really haven’t had a close look at it.

“We know where we’re at as a footy club and I think the footy world understands that. We’ve got to gain some respect, before we worry too much about who we’re playing and how many games we’ll win.

“We’re a two win team, so whoever we’re going to play – it’s going to be a tough game. That’s the reality of where we’re at. It doesn’t matter who we play or where we play, we’ve got to play a lot better than we have in the past.”