COLLINGWOOD will be "very, very disappointed" if it does not make the finals this year, chief executive Gary Pert says.
Many commentators are tipping Collingwood will miss the final eight in 2015 after its 11th-place finish last year and the trades of experienced players such as Sharrod Wellingham, Chris Dawes, Heath Shaw, Dale Thomas, Dane Beams and Heritier Lumumba since the end of 2012.
But Pert told reporters on Friday the Magpies could defy external expectations and return to the finals this year.
"Quite clearly from the players, Nathan (Buckley), myself, the board, we expect to be playing in the finals this year and we'll be very, very disappointed if we aren't," Pert said at the launch of Collingwood Media at The Backlot Studios in Southbank.
"A lot of the people external to the club don't have the same expectations, that's interesting but it actually has no relevance to what we're doing.
"No one knows the work that we've done and the preparation, how we've planned to play the game, so the only expectations I'm interested in are Nathan's, the player's, the leadership group's – what they think they are capable of doing.
"Let's face it you can have all the expectations you want (but) Collingwood always has very high expectations.
"We're not here to make up the numbers. We're here to be up there, being a threat in the finals and being a team that other teams don't enjoy playing against."
Asked when Collingwood's playing group would reach its peak, Pert said only that all clubs – regardless of whether they were at the top or bottom of the ladder – were constantly reshaping their lists in search of their next flag.
However, Pert said the Pies would not be putting "a cap" on their 2015 expectations despite the relative youth of their list.
"If we have luck with injuries and our young players come through and start playing with the potential that we know that they've got, then we could be a real threat this year," he said.
"We're also open to the fact that the competition is going to be so close that it will come down, no doubt, to percentage on who's going to make the eight or not.
"We've got to make sure that we take that right out of the mix (by having) success early in the season and by the end of the year we're one of the teams that the media have changed their mind (about) and say, 'They're one of the really top teams in the competition now'."
The Magpies have spent $1.2 million on facilities and resources to set up Collingwood Media and will spend about another $500,000 a year on staff and production costs.
As part of Collingwood's 2015 digital strategy, CollingwoodTV will increase its content by 35 per cent this year, producing five studio shows a week as well as behind-the-scenes documentaries capturing the year from the pre-season through to November's national draft.
Pert said the club had used the media strategies of English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester United and Spanish powerhouse Barcelona as the benchmark.
"The vision for Collingwood Media is to provide compelling content to every Collingwood supporter, anywhere around the world, using every available technology," Pert said.
The Magpies boss said the club had no intention of ever broadcasting its own games. Collingwood was still waiting to hear from the AFL on the results of its investigation into Jack Crisp over a wager made early last season when the midfielder was playing at the Brisbane Lions, Pert said.
