FORMER Melbourne Brownlow Medallist Jim Stynes has been installed as Melbourne's new chairman at a board meeting at the MCG.

Stynes was one of seven new directors, with three of the incumbent directors staying on to make up a 10-member board.

Outgoing chairman Paul Gardner said he and the other directors who resigned were happy to make way for the revamp of the board because they were convinced Stynes had the energy and expertise needed to help the embattled club.

Stynes said he was yet to fully come to grips with the extent of the club's financial problems, with the Demons believed to be headed for a loss of about $1.5 million this year.

But he said he was certain he and his new board could lift the Demons out of the mire, with driving up the club's membership base his key priority.

An emotional Stynes said he had been driven to throw his support behind Melbourne to ensure the club was never forced to fold or relocate.

"I would like to watch with my son knowing one day he will watch his beloved Demons run out on to the MCG sitting alongside his own children," Stynes said, while pausing several times to hold back tears.

"You never know, he might be playing for his beloved Demons, every father's dream."

Stynes said when he arrived from Ireland as a youngster he never believed he would make it as an AFL footballer, but he said as he entered the chairmanship of the club, he was certain he could make that position a success.

Stynes played 264 games for Melbourne from 1987-98, and won four club best and fairest awards, alongside the 1991 Brownlow.

The Demons are amid a wretched season, having one just one of their 11 games and are last on the ladder.