CAPTAIN Brad Green says criticism of coach Dean Bailey since last round’s loss to West Coast Eagles is “totally unfair”.
Speaking at AAMI Park on Monday, Green said Bailey has the full support of the players, and they want him at the helm.
“We love Dean and we love Dean being our coach and we’ve got no doubt that Dean will be here in the future,” he said.
“It’s all got to come down to the players.
“We’re out there playing the game. He’s implementing a style that we want to play and we’re just not playing to that at the moment.”
The Demons face the Adelaide Crows at the MCG on Sunday, but Green said it was not Bailey’s most important match yet.
“They’re all important. One week doesn’t mean it’s any more important than the other,” he said.
“We see it as another game to get out there and win, and that’s what we’re looking at doing on Sunday.”
Despite the poor performance against West Coast, Melbourne is still eighth on the ladder after recording two wins, one draw and two losses from six rounds.
But Green, who conceded it was one of the worst performances he was associated with, did not want to excuse the 54-point defeat under lights at Patersons Stadium last Thursday.
“I think any time you put up a performance like that - we don’t want to sit here and reflect on where we’ve been in the past,” he said.
“We want to move forward and that performance - as I’ve said, was embarrassing and one that certainly hurts deep.
“We’ve just got to get out there and perform and we’ve done enough talking and it’s just about the performance now.”
Green also understood why the club’s supporters were frustrated with the result.
“Of course, as a supporter watching that performance on the weekend, you would be frustrated,” he said.
“You would hope to see over the last two or three years that there is progression going forward.
“When you’ve got a young group that’s going to have consistency issues - those performances are going to happen.”
The first-year Melbourne skipper said it was a challenging position, but one he was relishing.
“I’m the senior player and I’m the captain of this club and I’ve got to be seen to lead.”
“That’s getting around all of our players - not just the senior guys we’ve got playing, but all of our Casey boys.
“I went down there and watched our terrific win on the weekend with Fev (Brendan Fevola), so it’s all positive down there at the moment.”
He also hadn’t yet to speak to president Jim Stynes, who said on 3AW on Saturday that Green was “struggling a little bit at the moment”.
“I haven’t spoken to Jim. That’s Jim’s opinion,” Green said.
“We as a club are trying to get through this all as one and we’re trying to move on and look forward to it.”
Speaking at AAMI Park on Monday, Green said Bailey has the full support of the players, and they want him at the helm.
“We love Dean and we love Dean being our coach and we’ve got no doubt that Dean will be here in the future,” he said.
“It’s all got to come down to the players.
“We’re out there playing the game. He’s implementing a style that we want to play and we’re just not playing to that at the moment.”
The Demons face the Adelaide Crows at the MCG on Sunday, but Green said it was not Bailey’s most important match yet.
“They’re all important. One week doesn’t mean it’s any more important than the other,” he said.
“We see it as another game to get out there and win, and that’s what we’re looking at doing on Sunday.”
Despite the poor performance against West Coast, Melbourne is still eighth on the ladder after recording two wins, one draw and two losses from six rounds.
But Green, who conceded it was one of the worst performances he was associated with, did not want to excuse the 54-point defeat under lights at Patersons Stadium last Thursday.
“I think any time you put up a performance like that - we don’t want to sit here and reflect on where we’ve been in the past,” he said.
“We want to move forward and that performance - as I’ve said, was embarrassing and one that certainly hurts deep.
“We’ve just got to get out there and perform and we’ve done enough talking and it’s just about the performance now.”
Green also understood why the club’s supporters were frustrated with the result.
“Of course, as a supporter watching that performance on the weekend, you would be frustrated,” he said.
“You would hope to see over the last two or three years that there is progression going forward.
“When you’ve got a young group that’s going to have consistency issues - those performances are going to happen.”
The first-year Melbourne skipper said it was a challenging position, but one he was relishing.
“I’m the senior player and I’m the captain of this club and I’ve got to be seen to lead.”
“That’s getting around all of our players - not just the senior guys we’ve got playing, but all of our Casey boys.
“I went down there and watched our terrific win on the weekend with Fev (Brendan Fevola), so it’s all positive down there at the moment.”
He also hadn’t yet to speak to president Jim Stynes, who said on 3AW on Saturday that Green was “struggling a little bit at the moment”.
“I haven’t spoken to Jim. That’s Jim’s opinion,” Green said.
“We as a club are trying to get through this all as one and we’re trying to move on and look forward to it.”
