COACH Mark Neeld speaks exclusively to melbournefc.com.au editor Matt Burgan on the eve of the 2012 premiership season in the second of a two-part series

The game is now covered at an all-time high. Despite this, do you believe the gap is now at its widest between what people on the inside know and do on a daily basis, as opposed to what people understand on the outside?

MN: Absolutely. I also have a feeling that, with the saturation of journalists that are eager for the story, what you’re finding is that people within football clubs are becoming more guarded when they speak to people, because they have a fear that everything they might be saying might end up in a newspaper.

So, in actual fact, what was seen as a great strength in having pure numbers as journalists, it’s actually getting less and less information [to the public], because you’re getting to a stage where no one is prepared to share anything unless it’s an official interview. Now, everything will find a level, but the gap [is widening] and that’s the reality.

I know a fair bit about my occupation and I’ll continue to learn more, but there are a million occupations that I don’t know anything about. And that’s life. Footy is one thing that has a great interest in the wider community.

This significant change in the game has widened it so?

MN: Yes, it is a different game to what it was 10 or five years ago. It takes a little bit of time for people to come up to speed. I do sometimes find it humorous that you’re told by media that they don’t want you to answer with words such as ‘process’ and ‘structure’. But that’s our reality.

I’m not quite sure what they want you to say, because if you’re talking about a kick-in or if you’re talking about a centre bounce - then you’re playing a structure. And it is what it is. It’s our job to deliver that, and if they find those messages bland, well then you find a way to dress it up, but that’s the reality.

You’ve implemented a new game plan, with a glimpse shown in the NAB Cup. How is that developing and what has the reception been like from players, coaches and even supporters so far?

MN: Overall, game plans can be difficult to analyse, especially in their short term, because the decision that we made was to work a lot with individuals and the requirements that we wanted from them. So, that takes time.

At the moment, the game plan would be in its most pure basic sense. The reason being is that we think, as a group of coaches, we’ve made a read that there is a lot that needs to be done with individual players. That’s in terms of their competitiveness and their own training ethic, and their own consistency of preparation. We’ve decided that’s where we’ll start.

So the game plan will continue to evolve, hopefully as more and more players pick up the idea, from an individual perspective, that these are the competitive traits that we want. This year, we have a number of priorities. One would be to instill, into as many players as we can, an undeniably high work ethic. The second one would certainly be a really in depth knowledge of the capabilities of our list.

And what’s your take on Melbourne’s list so far in your tenure?

MN: We came on last year and had a little bit of an input into the draft, but I had to take the advice of other people, who I hadn’t worked with before, about the quality of the list. What we needed? Where we were short and where we were over represented?

Realistically, this year, we will find out a lot about the players that we have, so when it comes to making decisions on the list at the end of this season, I’ll be really informed, so that’ll be a challenge that I’ve got to get to. We certainly believe that we’re very capable of being competitive every game. [I’m] not sure how many wins that delivers. It will be a timing thing, with the ever evolving game plan.

Reality says that if you have a look at history, new coaches who come in and have been placed as head coach of a team that hasn’t made finals, on average that they play 36 players in the seniors - that’s a lot. The reason they do that is to see how their new charges perform and they try and get a read on them, so you don’t have to rely on outside people telling you. Our aims and objectives for this year centre a lot on individual players on the list.

Have you noticed a group of players who have flourished under your style and regime since you took over?

MN: Yes. The players that have an appetite for consistent, hard work - they’re flourishing. When you get a large group of people together and we’ve got 47 players, which includes Jack Viney - that’s a large group of people.

No matter what system you bring, some people love it and other people will struggle with it a little bit. So we need to make sure that the people that are struggling a little bit, we’re giving them every bit of coaching and every bit of education we can to get to where we want to get.

So, there are a group of players who have really thrived on working really hard for a long period of time. And there are others who, for a number of different reasons, have felt like that they’ve been hit over the head with a baseball bat.

The word ‘compliance’ has popped up a fair bit already. What’s your definition of it for the team?

MN: Again, you go back to those annoying terms that no one likes, like structure and process. But I’ve got a strong belief that when you start at an organisation, it’s the best time to set standards. So that’s what we’ve done. We’ve come in and set our expectations in terms of preparation, training and performance here.

The other thing to go with that is that I’m delivering that message, but I may not necessarily be the one who made those standards. The top four sides or last year’s premiers - they set those standards. Their standards are how the big boys train. These are the times that they run. These are the weights that they lift. These are the diets that these guys abide by. These are their skinfold measurements. If you want to compete with the best on a regular basis and drive to the MCG - no matter who we’re playing - and believe that we can be competitive, they’re the standards that we’ve got to reach. Can they be reached in five months over pre-season? No. No, they can’t, because we’re talking about 47 individuals that have to get there. Some players will get there and others won’t and they’ll fall by the wayside. That’s the system that we work in.

It’s a lot easier to come in from day one and say ‘this is where we’re aiming and this is how we’re going to get there and this is what you’re measurements need to be’. [It’s easier to do that] than come in after 12 months down the track and decide ‘oh gee, we should’ve started there, let’s do it now’. So we’ve come in and been really clear with the players - and the staff for that matter - that this is how it’s going to look. And we’re going to give it every chance we can to work.

Externally, many people are viewing you as ruthless. My observations are that you deal with people, communicate clearly and are rational, realistic and fair. You’re straight to the point. What are your thoughts on being labeled ruthless?

MN: The ruthless element is interesting. I’ve heard people say that, but for me, my role in the football club is to coach the team. I don’t want to be here happy being an AFL coach. I want to be an AFL coach who has an impact on the Melbourne footy club - and a positive one.

Right now, there are a whole heap of AFL footballers, who are just happy to be an AFL footballer. I don’t want to coach them. I want to coach people who are prepared and want to be an AFL player who has an impact on their football club and the competition. They’re the ones [I want to coach].

If me coming in and saying ‘I want you one day to challenge the very best clubs and this is how we’re going to do it and if you can’t do it, I’m not going to play you’ - well, if that’s ruthless, then I’m ruthless. But if that’s also honest and realistic, then I’m that too.

How do you see yourself then?

MN: I’m very strong in the beliefs that I have. I’m not foolish enough to think that they will never change, but a core of them will always remain the same - in terms of how I want the game to be played. I’m very strong on the training I want to see, and in the gym - whether that’s on the training track or whether that’s in small group meetings. [I’m] very strong in that I want to create an extremely professional, high performance sports department. Now, that’s my job.

When I’m in footy mode, that’s what it’s like. All of that stuff takes time. I understand that people are at times a little bit apprehensive to what I’m going to say, but that’s my job.

This might sound strange, but is this job what you wished for? Are you enjoying the role, because I’m sure you had visions of how you wanted your role to be?

MN: It’s a wonderful job. I love it. I absolutely love it. With everything you do, there will be peaks and troughs, and I understand they’ll come at some stage. I’ll let you know at those times how I’m dealing with them.

But it is a wonderful job and I plan to be a senior coach for a long, long time.|

Mark thanks for your time and best wishes for round one and the season ahead.

MN: Thanks, no worries.