MELBOURNE has undoubtedly had a slow start to 2019, and despite a Round 4 victory over the Swans, Jake Melksham knows his side needs to keep getting better.

Importantly, the Demons secured their first win last Thursday, but there are still areas they can improve on in the coming weeks.

“We’re still tinkering with a few things defensively and also with the ball offensively,” Melksham told Melbourne Media.

“Over the next month I predict our football will be trending in an upwards direction towards our best footy.”

The Demons’ 22-point win over the Swans was a positive step forward for the team, as they showed glimpses of the spirited footy that held them in good stead last season.

“I think we’re getting close to our best. We got our game back to some degree and that’s what we’ve been looking for,” Melksham said.

“To go to Sydney and win up on their deck, which we haven’t done for a very long time as a footy club, was really good for the groups confidence leading into this week and the rest of the season.”

While the Dees understand there is still a big challenge ahead, Melksham says the group has taken plenty of belief from their win on the road.

“We do feel like we’re getting back to what we know,” he said.

“Three weeks ago, we played Geelong and the scoreboard didn’t really reflect the way that we played, so we faced the music on that and worked really hard on it.

“Since then it’s been trending each week and getting a win on the weekend was great for our confidence.

“I think moving forward we’re in a good spot to keep that momentum going and keep chipping away at it.”

While there has been plenty of criticism surrounding the performance of Melbourne’s defensive unit in recent weeks, Melksham said the forward line is also looking to lift.

“On the weekend we were much better with our structures and getting what we wanted as a forward group, as opposed to being dictated by the oppositions backman,” he said.

“I think we did function a lot better.”

But the bar has been set quite high for the group and Melksham said reaching that level will be a key factor in the team’s success this year.

“If you look back to last year our forward line was probably as dynamic as it’s ever been and a real strength of the whole side,” he said.

“Once we get that back to the peak level that we know we can play at I think it’ll go a long way to the club playing the type of footy we know that we want.”

The Demons will be looking to record back-to-back wins when it meets St Kilda at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.