COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley is adamant he has the energy to lead the embattled club through what he concedes has become a "reset" of its on-field direction.

The out-of-contract 48-year-old's steadfast position comes amid ongoing speculation over his coaching future and turmoil at board level.

Less than a month ago, Buckley said he was "absolutely" aligned with new club president Mark Korda's belief that finals were still on the agenda in 2021.

But the Magpies have since slipped to 2-7 ahead of Sunday's clash with Port Adelaide.

SLIDING DOORS IF you look up 'shambles' in the dictionary ...

At his weekly press conference on Friday, Buckley left no doubt over his belief that the club is now in regeneration mode.

"The message for Collingwood people would be that your expectations would be adjusted by now," Buckley said.

"We've had three pretty good years in finals ... and if you looked back you would've been pleasantly surprised after the five years leading up to that.

"We're resetting now and we believe that whilst we've still got some experience in the side and we feel like we're underperforming in the short term, we've got the capacity to play better footy."

Collingwood ranks 15th for scoring after nine rounds and faces a tough month leading into the bye, with matches against top-eight sides Port Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne, as well as a trip to face the Crows in Adelaide.

Senior players Taylor Adams (knee) and Jordan Roughead (concussion) are back from injury to take on the Power at the MCG.

"I can understand the emotion of our supporter group, in particular, wanting to see that the club is heading in the right direction," Buckley said.

"The right direction is not always going to mean that you've got more wins than losses.

"We're going through a period at the moment that is hard yards on the field but we feel that we can turn that around.

"We think that we can play better footy and we've got a couple of ins this week that are going to help us on Sunday, which is our short-term focus."

Buckley and club management are committed to making a call on the coach's future in the second half of the year, regardless of the Magpies' win-loss column.

Buckley dismissed a News Corp report this week, which claimed senior Collingwood players and football staff are starting to feel the club would benefit from a new coach with fresh ideas.

"I don't read it, but I hear about it, and my experience is that there's no evidence to support that," Buckley said.

Korda and his board are facing the prospect of a leadership challenge as Collingwood deals with what Buckley described as "trauma" in the fallout from former president Eddie McGuire's resignation in February.

"If it's not one issue, it's another, but a lot of that sort of happens externally to our inner football department environment," Buckley said.

"We've got plenty of things that we need to look after and focus on, and our weekly schedule is about improving and being better in that regard."