ESSENDON legend Kevin Sheedy has thrown his support behind new Bomber coach Matthew Knights in the wake of controversy surrounding club chairman Ray Horsburgh’s comments regarding the club’s selection policies.

The Bombers go into round eight with two wins and five losses and Sheedy was speaking at the club’s announcement that membership figures at Bomberland have surpassed the 40,000 mark.

The former coach has been made the honourary 40,000th member and returned to Windy Hill for the first time on Wednesday after being sacked as coach last year.

“My first year I lost five of my first six matches and I could have been a young Matthew Knights, and I was,” Sheedy said.

“Everybody’s always wanting to win the premiership as soon as possible and history says you won’t, you have to build up to them… and that goes for (Melbourne’s) Dean Bailey and Harves (Fremantle’s Mark Harvey) and (Carlton’s Brett) Ratten.

“You’re going to lose early games when you’re changing the way you play and getting players used to it. I’ve been down that track.”

Sheedy, who was inducted into the Essendon Hall of Fame just last week, said he had no axe to grind with the club despite the Bombers showing him the door at the end of last season after a decorated 27-year career.

“There never were any sour grapes. The best thing and the most important thing is that when you do leave that you move away and let the next step of the club grow.”