JAMES Hird won't be daunted by the swelling expectation of Essendon's massive supporter base and insists he is simply trying to get the club back on track after the disappointment of 2010.

The new coach has been buoyed by his players' pre-season performances but knows that transferring fitness into wins will be his biggest test.

A daunting early fixture in which the Bombers play 2010 finalists the Western Bulldogs, Sydney Swans, St Kilda, Carlton and Collingwood in the opening five rounds will make it tough for Hird to get his side off to a bright start.

However, he is quietly confident about the season and the prospects of his once-powerful club.

"[There's] no nerves," Hird said from Essendon training at Keilor on Wednesday.

"You've really got to focus on what you can change and what you can do.

"The season still seems so far away for us and myself, so we're just concentrating on training them up the best we can for NAB Cup, and then we'll see what happens after that."

The Bombers finished 14th last season with just seven wins, prompting Matthew Knights' dismissal and what many supporters considered to be the dream appointments of Hird and assistant coach Mark Thompson.

Membership sales of close to 32,000 indicate fans' optimism of a turnaround, but the premiership captain is reluctant to make bold predictions.

"Just improvement," Hird said of his aims for the year ahead.

"We're about improvement and we're not putting any limitations or any expectations on where we'll finish.

"We need to improve and already we've improved as a group in terms of our physical capabilities. Now we'd like to see that in our football as well."

Most of the players hit the track on Wednesday, with ruckman David Hille and key forward Scott Gumbleton among those in rehabilitation following knee surgery.

Defender Tayte Pears (foot) was also missing from the main group.

Essendon kicks off its NAB Cup campaign on February 18 with matches against the Brisbane Lions and St Kilda in the new round-robin format.

"We'll just see who we've got fit," Hird said.

"I think it's four weeks away for us now, and we'll play a few games between now and then and work out who's ready to play and how we approach it from there. But our focus is really round one."