Speaking at Melbourne’s 2012 commencement dinner at Crown on Wednesday night, Neeld made no bones about the fact he will do everything in his power to make Melbourne a force in the competition.
“I make absolutely no apology at all ever for pushing those boundaries, or setting high standards or demanding an elite level from everyone at the club, or demanding an elite level of compliance,” he said.
“That’s my job.”
Neeld said he had already made some hard decisions and that would continue in the future.
“Keep in mind, the decisions we’ve made are only ever made for the best interest of improving the performance on-field of our footy club,” he said.
“Everyone has their own story in regards to arriving at Melbourne … but to stay at Melbourne footy club there are some standards you’ve got to reach.
“It doesn’t matter how you got here. There is elite level of compliance to an elite level of program.”
But Neeld warned that improvement and change didn’t follow a perfect, steady line.
“There are going to be some peaks and troughs on that graph. We’ve got a young group and a new group,” he said.
“I promise though to be honest with everyone - honest with the media and honest with myself. I’m fairly headstrong and I’ve got - what I think - are some really good ideas, and I’m going to have a go at them.
“We’re going to be fighting tooth and nail for everything the football club stands for.”
