RODNEY Eade sucks in a deep breath and exhales as he contemplates how to answer the question over his initial impressions after being appointed Gold Coast's senior coach.

The four-time premiership-winning Hawthorn speedster and ex-Sydney and Western Bulldogs mentor was given the opportunity to lead the Suns following foundation coach Guy McKenna's axing after the 2014 campaign.

It shapes as a plum gig – a young list full of potential which had been on the verge of an inaugural finals berth for most of the season and led by an all-time great in Gary Ablett.

Yet Eade admits he was forced to do some revision to his pre-season plans as he got to know his new playing group.

"They certainly needed to lift their training standards and get fitter. That's one which I expected," Eade said.

"Probably their game knowledge and all-round skill level was not where I thought it would be, to be honest.

"They've got capabilities for getting pretty good at that but maybe that's a victim of the younger thing.

"They've got to learn the basics. Not all of them are going to be great players, even if they've been touted as an early draft pick.

"There's a lot of top 10 draft picks who don't make it, let alone become great players. You've got to get that mentality that it doesn't matter where you're at in the draft, whether you're pick one or taken in the rookie draft, you can still be a good player or not make it.

"The trouble too when you get feted a bit as a youngster is you don't learn as much. You block off, you think 'Well I'm gonna make it here'. It doesn't work that way."

Eade is happy to admit finals is the benchmark he's challenging his players to reach in 2015, saying if you "don't aim there, you're never going to get it".

A finals campaign looked a certainty midway through the 2014 campaign, hitting the heady heights of third on the ladder after 10 rounds.

But then Ablett's shoulder blew apart during a gutsy win over Collingwood in round 16.

A young midfield brigade of Dion Prestia, Jaegar O'Meara and David Swallow tried to fill the void but they were flagging with fatigue and the Suns limped to 12th with just one win from their last seven fixtures.

That run ended with a full review of operations and the eventual dismissal of McKenna.

During the off-season the Suns have recruited Sydney premiership star Nick Malceski to add some extra leadership alongside Ablett.

First-round draft pick Peter Wright will increase the club's ruck options, with Zac Smith and Tom Nicholls aiming to put injury woes behind them and add consistency to their potential.

Most of all, Eade says, the Suns need to know there are no more excuses and no more allowances for inconsistency because of their youth.

"We've got no crutch to use if we struggle," he said. "If we struggle, we struggle, and we've just got to get better.

"They've got to grow up, which I think they are. They've got a really good attitude that they want to get better and they want to win.

"We just need to make sure that that's part of our vocabulary but also in our mindset that we're in the big league and we need to perform each week."