ROSS Lyon is back in the red, white and black. 

Now the 55-year-old is about to get back to work inside a building that looks vastly different to the one he left when the Saints moved to Seaford in 2010. 

St Kilda's football department is back on deck ahead of the start of pre-season next month, building out a program that will launch the club into its 150th year in 2023. 

The Saints have won only one premiership in their existence – the famous one-point win over Collingwood in 1966 – and while some supporters will dare to dream now the coach with the best win-loss coaching record in the club's history is back, Lyon has plenty of tasks to sink his teeth into.

Some tasks are pressing, like finalising the coaching department at RSEA Park. Others are going to take time to execute, like making St Kilda's football relevant again. 

No club has turned over more coaches this century than the Saints. Both Carlton and Essendon have also had eight coaching appointments, with Lyon returning to St Kilda for a second stint after leading the club between 2007 and 2011, before his bombshell defection to Fremantle. 

'UNFINISHED BUSINESS' Lyon returns after Lethal's advice

Now Lyon is back at St Kilda's spiritual home, can he lift the club's spirit again?

AFL.com.au analyses five tasks Lyon needs to focus on ahead of his return season at St Kilda.

Locking in his lieutenants

Most football departments are locked and loaded for next season, given it is almost November and the first to fourth-year players are closing in on a return for pre-season training. St Kilda convinced favourite son Lenny Hayes to return to the club months ago as midfield coach, after two years away from the game. With six-time All-Australian Corey Enright overseeing the backline, the Saints still need to appoint another assistant coach to look after the forwards, following the departure of Brendon Lade to the Western Bulldogs. While football operations assistant Jarryd Roughead would be a natural fit, the four-time premiership Hawk has spent more time with the list management team in recent months and is set to increase his time in that area of the business going forward. Brownlow medallist Robert Harvey is expected to depart Hawthorn and return to the club he played 383 games for and where he was an assistant coach under Lyon in 2010 and 2011. St Kilda also has room for a development coach to work with Damian Carroll, Jake Batchelor and Ben Jacobs and could recruit Brendon Goddard to round out a third homecoming of a club great.

Making 'Saints Footy' relevant again

St Kilda is instantly relevant again. That's what happens when you sign someone like Lyon. The Saints have won only one final – and played in only two finals – since Lyon departed for Western Australia over a decade ago. The club has only played 54 finals in its history, a narrative that Lyon referenced yesterday in frustration. The fact St Kilda's demise in the second half of 2022 didn't dominate discussion in the football world spoke volumes. In a nine-team town, St Kilda has rarely been relevant since Lyon was last in the main job at the club. The Saints celebrate 150 years in 2023 and will need to overcome an 3-8 finish to 2022 that resulted in the axing of Ratten, less than 100 days after he signed a two-year extension. St Kilda's best season since Lyon departed was in 2016, when the club won 12 games and celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1966 premiership. 150 years is a big deal; will Lyon deliver on his promise to bring supporters with him on the journey more often than last time he was in charge? Time will tell. 

Fixing Max King's goalkicking woes

It is easy to forget that Max King is just 22, and has only played three seasons after missing his debut year due to injury. King's accuracy was a huge talking point in 2022, despite the key forward booting 52 goals to finish sixth in the Coleman Medal. He kicked 1.7, 2.5 and 0.5 in performances that drew plenty of heat, but also slotted 6.0 against Adelaide on the road and 5.0 against Sydney in round 23. Goalkicking doesn't get fixed overnight – and might cause him grief for years to come – but if King can improve his conversion rate, St Kilda will improve. It's that simple. King is one of the best young key forwards in the game. With 60 games and 112 goals on the board, the Victorian has laid the foundations to become one of the best spearheads in the caper. 

Getting more value from top-end draft picks

The biggest difference between Lyon's first stint at the Saints and this one – other than Moorabbin transforming from a condemned building to 'Disneyland' – is the lack of top-end talent. Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes, Brendon Goddard, Nick Dal Santo, Leigh Montagna, Sam Fisher and Stephen Milne aren't out there. The only two All-Australians on St Kilda's list are Jack Steele and Jack Sinclair. They need some of the top-end talent to flourish. As 2022 slid from bad to worse, the absence of three players in which the club invested single-digit picks was glaring. Jack Billings and Hunter Clark only managed eight appearances each this year due to injury, while Nick Coffield didn't play a single game after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during a pre-season camp in February. Billings was forced to undergo back surgery after a lingering issue got worse late in the year, after dealing with hamstring issues earlier in the season. Clark's bad run also continued this year with two impact injuries, undergoing shoulder surgery in March before nasal surgery was required in July. He almost moved to North Melbourne during the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period but has remained. The Saints have traded away plenty of early draft picks to build this list. Now Lyon needs some of the top-end at Moorabbin to deliver on the investment. 

Reviving the Saints' running machine

Bradley Hill played in three premierships at Hawthorn, but he produced his best football under Ross Lyon at Fremantle. The wingman won the Doig Medal in his first season at the club in 2017 before finishing third two seasons later. Hill moved to St Kilda at the end of that year on a monster deal that has led to plenty of criticism regarding the recruitment. At the peak of his powers in the west, Hill was one of the premier wingmen in the game. St Kilda desperately needs classy outside speed to deliver the ball inside 50. Lyon hinted at a return to a run and gun game style on Monday and in radio rounds on Tuesday morning. Can the coach unlock the best of the 29-year-old again, just like he did at the Dockers?