ST KILDA coach Alan Richardson concedes there will be "a lot of change" to the club's football program after a dismal season that saw the Saints win just four games.
Internal expectations saw the side expected to make finals after finishing with 12 victories in 2016, then 11 last year.
However, the Good Friday loss to North Melbourne in round two sparked a dreadful year and it was the Roos that won again on Sunday at Etihad Stadium, by 23 points.
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Already assistant coaches Simon McPhee, Rohan Welsh and Lindsay Gilbee have been moved on, as has list manager Tony Elshaug, and the shake-up will continue as football manager Simon Lethlean continues to review the football department.
"There'll be a lot of change to our footy program," Richardson said.
With the season finished, that process will begin immediately.
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"We'll start the really extensive part of the review. You can imagine when you've had a year like we've had, one that's been nowhere near our own expectation, that those reviews have been ongoing," Richardson said.
"There's already been talk about there will be change to the way we set up our footy program, and a lot of that has already happened. There's a lot of stuff that needs to happen. We'll certainly look at everything.
"We'll look to improve our method, we'll look to improve the way we train, and look, the team that wins the premiership will do that too, but clearly we've got a bit of work to do."
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The Saints haven't been shy about declaring their interest in recruiting stars, having already linked themselves to Sydney midfielder Dan Hannebery, and Richardson believes those players won't look at the club's 2018 in isolation when assessing which team they want to represent.
"I would hope that when players look at us, they look at the fact that we've been heading the right way for three or four years," Richardson said.
He backed those players to see the bigger picture.
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"They know their footy. They know that we are a chance, if we get things right, to be a much more consistent team," Richardson said.
After a dreadful campaign, the coach is determined to see his side get back on track.
"Our focus is to be really aggressive, coach really strongly, challenge our players really strongly to bounce back, to look at this year as an incredibly disappointing year, a year where we underachieved, and we need to respond," Richardson said.
