COLLINGWOOD has a "great list" capable of pushing into the top four in 2015 if the team gets better at playing its way for longer, according to captain Scott Pendlebury.
As the Magpies prepare for a last-ditch attempt to qualify for finals, needing to beat Hawthorn on Friday night and have other results fall their way, Pendlebury said the list was not the issue at the Westpac Centre.
Personnel on Friday night, however, could be, with an injury list that has rapidly expanded to include key players Dane Swan, Travis Cloke, Dayne Beams, Ben Reid and Alan Toovey.
Pendlebury said Collingwood was still on the right track if it stuck to its guns for longer periods next year, despite losing seven of its past 10 games since the midpoint of the season.
"You've got to understand that within games there's going to be times when it's really hot, and when there's a bit of a lull you've got to keep that mental application to play you want to play," Pendlebury told AFL.com.au.
"You can't fall into the trap of just riding the waves of a game and momentum.
"The main area with the sides around the middle of the ladder trying to push up into the top four, we've just got to get better at playing the way we want to play for the whole game.
"You watch sides like Sydney, Fremantle, Hawthorn and Geelong, you know the way they're going to play every week regardless of what the scoreboard says … that's what I think our big improvement area is."
The Magpies are expected to miss the finals this year for the first time since 2005, ending the AFL's longest current streak of September appearances.
Still, after one season as captain, Pendlebury said the outlook was bright for his team.
"I think we've got a great list and I think we've got the foundation here – we've got to put in the time and put in the work," he said.
"We've got young guys that are hungry and we've got old guys who are hungry as well … we're on the right path."
Pendlebury has enjoyed another fine season, missing just one game to sit among the Brownlow Medal favourites.
He said he hadn't tried to change his leadership style since taking over the captaincy from Nick Maxwell, but he had to make other adjustments to accommodate for the extra duties of an AFL captain.
"There's a few early morning breakfasts and corporate events at night, but my core business, I've always made sure that's stayed the same," he said.
"At the end of the day I still need to and want to play good footy on the weekends.
"Being captain of Collingwood I don't run out there and think, 'It's all on my shoulders', because if I did that you're going nowhere as a football club.
"We've got a really good leadership group and guys wanting to step up, and you run out on match days with seven or eight guys wanting to do the right thing in terms of setting up."
Pendlebury nominated midfielder Steele Sidebottom as the young player who could take the next step in 2015 as the club's on-field leadership evolves.
"He's in the leadership group this year and he's grown an enormous amount," Pendlebury said.
"He's such a good player in our club and in the competition, and I think his confidence can go to another level.
"We haven't seen the best of him yet."
