MAKE no mistake, the Melbourne Football Club is on a mission.
 
Mark Neeld has been appointed coach to lead that mission.

He does not make any apology for what that mission requires.

Nor should he.

As Neeld has said before, he does not set the standards. It's the teams competing hardest for the premiership that demonstrate what needs to be done.

That's why Neeld's response to Saturday's loss to the Brisbane Lions should not surprise. The football club needs competitors. It needs players to develop into elite footballers.

Neeld understands that elite players get there through hard work. And he is demanding that of his entire list.

The players are being challenged to train as hard as the top teams. They are being asked to adapt to a new game style. In short, they are being shown what is expected of elite sportsmen who are winners.

Shape up, or ship out.

This is a long journey and the club under Neeld will stay the course. They may have heard it before but accepting that reality is vital.

The most interesting comment to come from Neeld, flanked by his two co-captains in the after-match press conference, was a positive one. "We have a core group of younger players or at least inexperienced players. They'll be OK," he said.

It shows the side of Neeld that happens away from the camera. He cares enough to do the hard things that will make the players and the football club better.

The younger players have time on their side and an attitude that suggests they will become fierce competitors. In tough times like the round one defeat, they will learn about the mental strength needed to compete consistently at this level.

The feeling that the Demons' senior players are on notice has been the assumption since the youthful leadership group was announced in February. Neeld emphasised, however, that no player's cards had been marked.

"You can't do that. That would be foolish. It will take some players longer to adapt and that is natural. That is human nature," he said.

So everyone is on an even keel. Or at least they were until after Saturday's game, the first assessment opportunity.

And Neeld is going to use those opportunities to assess performance with rigour. There is, he said, no way he will keep going down a similar path and putting blind faith in players.

"That is not a threat. That is not being anything else except being honest and that is what the players were told," he said.

There will be peaks and troughs as improvement happens. That's the reality of change. Neeld has shown already that he won't resile from doing whatever it takes.

"It will take some time but it's worth pursuing," Neeld said.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.