A PRE-SEASON time trial last week has shown Melbourne coach Mark Neeld just how much his players need to improve their fitness if they're to make significant strides next season.

After watching his players go through the paces, Neeld discovered there are some "elite runners" at the club, but there are also a number who "aren't at an elite level who maybe thought they were".

The results have left the rookie coach determined to up the ante on the pre-season regime, and has even put a handful of players - including veterans Aaron Davey and Colin Sylvia - on notice.

"I will be absolutely staggered if the Melbourne footy club gets to the start of next season and we're not fit enough to compete," Neeld told 3AW on Thursday night.

"We will have them physically fit and physically strong enough to play league footy.

"There's still a long way to go and we know we've got a young list and we have to treat them well, but the volume of training they're currently doing is large."

Davey had a year to forget in 2011, playing just 11 games with a knee injury hampering him all season.

Neeld said it was entirely up to the 28-year-old as to how his 2012 played out, and would give him the opportunity to win back his place in the team.

"Aaron has some challenges, and so do the other 40-odd players we've got," he said.

"I'm going to be a really structured coach, I've got particular roles that need to be played, and if Aaron can play one of those roles he gives himself every chance to play in the senior side.

"If he's unable to play one of those roles, he doesn't play. It's as simple as that.

"He's got to get himself fit enough, make sure he's taking in all the education about those roles, and we're going to give him the chance to put his best foot forward.

"If he does, no problems, he plays, plays really well and the supporters will love him. If he's unable to do that, he simply doesn't play and the supporters at Casey will have to love him."

Sylvia made headlines last month when he was cut from the International Rules squad for drinking on the eve of the Australian team's Torquay camp.

He also fled the scene of a car accident in the early hours of the morning after being a passenger in the vehicle, and failed to notify the club for a number of hours after the incident. 

As well as his expulsion from the Australian squad, he was fined the maximum amount under the AFLPA of $5000, directed to complete an AFLPA and club approved alcohol program, and suspended for round one of next season.

Neeld conceded Sylvia "has an issue" and vowed to support him through his punishment, but emphasised a zero tolerance for poor preparation.

"I have no interest in dealing with players who think they can drink alcohol prior to a training session, and that's not taking into account everything that happened afterwards; he made that decision," he said.

"If you want to be an elite level player in the best competition in the world, you've got to prepare yourself well and in my opinion with what he did, he wasn't.

"He's been suspended for round one, and I view that as quite a major thing."

Neeld said he was encouraged by the response his players had shown so far in regards to the pre-season training load and his objective to boost their aerobic capacity.

"Having someone that's come from Collingwood and the director of sports science to come out of St Kilda [former St Kilda elite performance manager David Misson], you know that the types of players that run these times … the Melbourne players want to know," he said. 

"They want to know what Scott Pendlebury runs and how fast he can cover those distances, and what does Dane Swan does.

"Or, for someone like Jack Watts, Dave Misson can sit down with him and say, 'this is a similar profile to what Nick Riewoldt can do'.

"You can actually compare them to the best and it's great to have those conversations.

"The players are asking the right questions and we're able to give them that information."

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs