COLLINGWOOD won't be panicked into sacking coach Nathan Buckley after a poor start to the season, club president Eddie McGuire says.

Pressure is mounting on club great Buckley after Tuesday's Anzac Day loss to Essendon left the Magpies with a 1-4 record to sit 13th on the AFL ladder.

But McGuire gave an impassioned defence of his close friend Buckley, who has staked his job on the club making finals this season for the first time since 2013.

"Every time I've looked to Nathan Buckley as a player, as a person, as a coach - he has never let me or the Collingwood Football Club down," McGuire told Triple M Melbourne on Wednesday.

After the siren: Time's running out for Bucks

"There has been no greater servant of the Collingwood Football Club.

"There is no better person to have our club's future in his hands than Nathan Buckley.

"He will do whatever is required to the best of his ability."

Buckley has admitted his misfiring forward line remains a work in progress after the Bombers loss, also imploring star midfielder Scott Pendlebury to find form to help the Magpies out of their slump.

And the task gets no easier against second-placed Geelong at the MCG on Sunday before games against Carlton and Greater Western Sydney.

But long-time club boss McGuire suggested Buckley could be safe, even if the club continues to struggle in 2017.

"Things can turn quickly if you get the right mix in there, but it takes a bit of a build," he said

"There isn't a panic to be had.

"We won't turn on our own. We won't decimate people who give to our club day in, day out over tens of years."'

Nathan Buckley talks with Scott Pendlebury after the loss to Essendon. Picture: AFL Photos