JAMES Hird believes Essendon will taste success in 2015, despite the uncertainty of the supplements saga still hanging over many players' heads.
Speaking at the Bombers' season launch on Monday night, Hird said the club's mature-age recruits would help the "greatest football club in the country" improve on last year's elimination final exit.
The Bombers have brought in Adam Cooney, James Gwilt, Jonathan Giles and Shuan McKernan since North Melbourne bundled them out of finals last season.
"We identified at the end of the season last year that we had a group of senior players who deserved the opportunity to be successful," Hird said.
"We looked at the age demographic and where we needed to go and we thought we needed more experience on the list.
"They're a special playing group and they've been through so much and shown so much resilience.
"They're a very talented group, they deserve success and I believe they will get success this year."
Former Western Bulldogs midfielder Cooney, who has only missed a couple of pre-season training sessions after a history of knee problems, was "very close" to his 2008 Brownlow Medal-winning form, Hird said.
Off-field the Bombers have brought back past greats Matthew Lloyd and Mark Harvey in coaching roles.
Four-time premiership coach Kevin Sheedy has also returned as general manager of commercial development and innovation.
"I've been asked a lot over the last week-and-a-half what it's like to have Kevin Sheedy back. I think some people expected me to say 'I'm not sure how we're going to work together' or 'I'm the coach and he's not'," Hird said.
"To bring Kevin back and to be able to position him in the role he's in to really restore the faith of the Essendon supporters and members is great."
Speaking to a room packed with more than 400 people, Bombers captain Jobe Watson said the playing group was building nicely towards its round one clash against the Sydney Swans on April 4.
"I think the last few weeks the players have really ramped up the competitive side of training and I feel as if we'll be in really good shape for round one," he said.
"The players have trained exceptionally hard. We've worked hard and we've stayed together as a group."
However, the 17 or 18 Bombers serving provisional suspensions for taking part in the club's 2012 supplements program won't know until March 31 if they will be free to play against the Swans.
Bombers chairman Paul Little said he remained confident in the players' position.
"There is no doubt we have all had to endure the toughest period in our 142-year history," Little said.
"Unfortunately, the AFL Tribunal decision will not be known until the end of the month and we continue to deal with this uncertainty as a football club.
"We remain confident in the position of our players and will continue to support them unconditionally throughout this stressful time."
Earlier, the Bombers launched their new membership campaign 'This Is Our Fabric'.
The campaign pays tribute to the club's fans and is a call to arms – led by Sheedy – for supporters to unite behind the playing group as Essendon attempts to sign-up 65,000 members this year.
Essendon also inducted two new life members at its season launch - Nathan Lovett-Murray and Brownlow medallist Graham Moss.
Lovett-Murray played 145 games and booted 73 goals for the club between 2004-13, while Moss won the Brownlow in the last of his four years at Essendon in 1976.
The champion ruckman captained the club that year before returning to WAFL club Claremont after playing 84 games and kicking 67 goals for the Dons.
