PORT Adelaide's players have come out strongly this week slamming their own complacency and work rate, but coach Ken Hinkley is easing off.
Not for a moment is he content with the club's recent performances, but Hinkley insists he holds tremendous faith in the playing group.
At 3-4, the coach says there's no reason to over-dramatise the Power's predicament, despite the club having won just nine of its past 21 games.
"It's never as good as it looks, and it's never as bad as it seems," Hinkley said on Thursday morning.
"We're not shying away from responsibility. We know our performances have been below par but then there's an obligation to try and rectify that.
"I know the best way to do that is to be positive about what we're able to do; I've got a really clear picture of us doing good things on the footy field.
"The worst (football) programs just fall to pieces under a little bit of pressure and that's not what we're going to do … we know the road we're on and we're going to stick to it.
"You're not going to get me losing faith in this group."
Hinkley will also refrain from swinging the axe at selection ahead of Sunday's clash against Richmond at Adelaide Oval.
Ollie Wines and Alipate Carlile are expected to return to the side, but few should expect to lose their place in the side after consecutive losses.
The coach said he'd afford the personnel an opportunity to rebound from a dip in form.
"I think the group deserve an opportunity to continue to work through this," Hinkley said.
The competition is catching up, says Jonas
"When you're not quite getting it right, you've got to change some part of the personnel to tinker with that - but it shouldn't be wholesale changes.
"There will be two forced by the players (Wines and Carlile) if they come up, that are just quality players that have to come into our team."
Whatever the reason for the Power's recent slump, Hinkley said it provided his group with another learning opportunity.
It's the first time since his arrival at Alberton at the end of 2012 that this squad has had to deal with the failure to meet external expectations.
As the underdogs of the competition over the past two seasons, the coach believed his players were "allowed" slumps in form given how far back they were coming from.
But after last year's narrow preliminary final loss and the arrival of Patrick Ryder, most tipped Port to be challenging for the minor premiership.
"The obligation for us this year was to try and live up to expectation. That's not something we put on ourselves but's its something we welcome," he said.
"It's a new experience and it's good for us – experience is always good for you.
"In the first couple of years those little flat spots that were in our club at times were greeted a bit differently … I think people allowed us to have those flat spots in the last couple of years.
"I think it's a great learning [opportunity] for us and one that will hold us in great stead."
