The Dogs won four of their final six games in 2013 after registering just one win in the opening eight rounds.

 

But McCartney says while there's no limit on what his players can achieve this season, the expectations placed on them remain the same.  

The senior coach, entering his third season at the helm, said the club's summer training had been more about working on deficiencies than anything else.

 

"There's probably never any ceiling and no more or less pressure," McCartney told AFL.com.au last week.

 

"I think the key thing for us is that we were doing some things really well at the end of last year and we were also doing some things that the opposition would expose us in, exploit us.

 

"We've had a good summer of working on that and we as a coaching group aren't sure if we've mastered those things yet, but they're better or more progressed than they were 12 months ago.

 

"That's the key for us; we can't go into games and the opposition know there's two or three things that if you get this done against the Bulldogs, it will be a hard day for them."

 

McCartney acknowledged there were still some gaps in the Bulldogs' line-up despite the recruitment of ex-Essendon forward Stewart Crameri in the trade period.

 

However, he believes they can develop from within to cover those roles.  

 

"There's probably just one or two positions in defence and one or two positions in our forward line, and we're really confident people will grow into these roles," he said.

 

"Part of coaching and building a team is you need to build their craft.

 

"If they're a half back, they need to be able to do certain things to deal with some dangerous forwards and if they're a smaller forward, they need to be able to find a way to get a bit of space and kick a goal.

 

"They're the two areas of the ground we feel we've got plenty of tall options at either end, we've got a multitude of midfielders who are getting stronger in the body and are getting more conditioning into their legs and we've got some young ruckmen coming up under Will [Minson], so probably those two areas."

 

Crameri isn't expected to solely spend time in the forward line with McCartney keen to tap into his aerobic ability.

 

He described the acquisition as a win-win for both club and player, as the Dogs' young forwards will benefit from his presence and Crameri will get the midfield opportunity he is after.

 

McCartney also said it was pleasing for the Dogs to be able to lure a player such as Crameri to Whitten Oval, which hadn't always been an attractive prospect for rival players.

 

"We were pleased to be able to entice a young player who's still got his best football in front of him to our club," he said.

 

"We haven't been a destination club. I don't think you'll see us overly active in trade period all the time.

 

"We'll primarily build through the draft and then bring people in that we think fit us and can make us better."

 

Another recent "win-win" for the Dogs and a former player has been the trade of Brian Lake to Hawthorn just over a year ago.

 

Lake went on to win the Norm Smith Medal in the Hawks' premiership win over Fremantle while the Dogs were able to recruit players they have factored as long-term prospects.

 

"Hawthorn got the result they wanted, the player got the result they wanted and we now have Koby Stevens and Nathan Hrovat in the formative stage of their career," McCartney said.

 

"They have a great opportunity now to build a good career and be part of something really significant at the Western Bulldogs."

 

Twitter: @AFL_JenPhelan