WITH JUST five wins from 29 games, the pressure on Melbourne coach Mark Neeld rose another few notches on Sunday after his team suffered a 10-goal thrashing at the hands of Gold Coast.

On the same day interim CEO Peter Jackson announced the club would suffer a loss north of $1.5 million and said his energy would be directed towards correcting the terrible performances of the football team, the Demons were embarrassed. 

Supporters were waving white flags in the stands that occupied 13,304 people and Gold Coast players could hear the abuse being directed at their opponents. 

Jackson has already indicated he doesn't think Neeld or the football department have had much of a chance to show whether they can coach or not, given a multitude of off-field events have rattled the club since he took over.  

Neeld was calm post-match, seemingly less forlorn than he had been after the 148-point thumping at the hands of Essendon in round two. 

He declared he was up for the fight to turn the club's fortunes around and that he was more concerned about his players' futures than his own. 

"Everyone knows in the 18 months that we've been here - you jot down some of the things that have happened at the football club - it's been a life experience for all of us," Neeld said. "But we're still here. We're up for it, absolutely up for it."

He said he was pleased with several players that did show something on the night with fewer than 10 games experience, including Michael Evans, Dean Terlich, Jack Viney and Max Gawn. 

But there was little else to say except that he thought there was a future on display for the football club. 

His thoughts echoed Jackson's comments pre-game when he said that he didn't think the club's recruiting had been too bad in the past couple of seasons. 

However, in the rooms, president Don McLardy and Jackson were deep in discussion. Jackson had a chat with Colin Sylvia and Jack Grimes. He appears a man who will seek the opinions of others as he tries to determine the correct plan for the Demons. 

Demons football director and former skipper Greg Healy was also in the rooms after the game. 

Neeld said Jackson's approach gave him confidence the club was in good hands. 

"Peter is very educated. He's very experienced and he's seen it all before and some of the questions he is asking are no doubt the correct ones," Neeld said. 

Neeld knows the football department is under scrutiny, as it should be given the standard of the on-field performance, and he would be a fool to not understand his job is under threat. 

He is no fool, so he must hope that Jackson's forensic approach will buy him time.  

"They are the types of guys who will get as much information as they possibly can before making decisions and before saying this is the structure that we need," Neeld said. 

"I think the best decisions with regards to structures are made in that manner."

Few were anticipating change overnight but you can bet Neeld's future was the topic of discussion from board level to supporter level. 

When asked whether he thought he would be given time to prove to Jackson he could coach, Neeld played a straight bat:

"I haven't thought about that to be honest. That is just AFL footy. My main concern is going through these numbers and the footage and trying to get the best out of the players."