Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has said the club's refreshed coaching panel has cleared up his side's vision of what they need to do to reach their goals in 2018.
Garry Hocking, Justin Longmuir and Matthew Boyd have joined Collingwood's coaching ranks for 2018 and Buckley says there is a renewed confidence among the players and coaches this year.
“I believe that the group we’ve been able to put together of coaches, and they’ve gelled together really well,” Buckley said on SEN's Whateley.
“I’m really confident and there’s a great element of trust that I have in our coaching group to be able to deliver what we need to deliver.
“That has [also] developed over the years with the playing group, particularly the senior leadership group, and clearly deeper than that with some of the key players in our side that have a clear understanding of their impact and where we want to go.
“That gives you more confidence and more belief in what you’re doing and the test will come for us.”
Contract talks were all the rage around Buckley in 2017 and following an extensive, in-depth review of the club, Buckley was offered a two-year extension with the club he played for on 260 occasions.
“I can honestly say it’s not front of mind at all,” Buckley said.
“I don’t feel any less determined to get the job done.”
Injuries to Jamie Elliott and Alex Fasolo have meant they've missed a large part of pre-season however Buckley confirmed that both players are ahead of schedule in their recovery.
“We’ve trained really well. We’re comfortable with the amount of work we’ve been able to get into our players,” he said.
“We think we’re in good shape to attack the next 6-8 weeks and round off our preparation.”
