TWO OF Collingwood's biggest recruits had their first days on the job, but all eyes were on just one man when the Pies started pre-season training on Monday.

As former Sydney Swan Darren Jolly went about his work relatively unnoticed, the assembled media was zoned in on new assistant and coach-in-waiting Nathan Buckley, who was busy instructing his charges on his first day.

The former Collingwood champ, who will take over the senior role from 2012, started at the Lexus Centre last week but had his real first day on Monday as almost every player returned for duty.

Senior coach Mick Malthouse, on holidays, was absent from the session but even his non-attendance was barely noticed.

There were few onlookers as players completed a two-kilometre time trial before completing short skill drills in different groups - all under a blazing sun.

"The start of pre-season gets the butterflies in the stomach no matter who you are, so there was a little bit of that for me today and it was good to get to the start," Buckley said following the hour-long session.

"Walking out to watch the boys do the 2km [run] I remember what it felt like as a player.

"So it was familiar surroundings but obviously a very different role and responsibility, but it's good to be back."

Buckley, who retired in 2007 after 260 games for the Pies and six Copeland Trophies, doesn't believe he will have any problems coaching the men he played with just two years ago.

"It's all about relationships and whether you're playing with them or coaching with the guys, the whole idea is to try to help them be the best they can be and mould it into a successful unit," he said.

"That's the coaching staff's responsibility and I'm part of that. I've always been a friend and a confidante and someone that is there to help them be the best they can be, so in so far as that goes, nothing's changed."

Collingwood, coming off a preliminary final loss, is desperately trying to reach the next level and win its first premiership since 1990.

Buckley said identifying one specific area for improvement wasn't easy, but he hoped his club's natural progression and hard work would help see it climb the ladder in 2010.

"There's a lot of things the club has done right in recent times," he said.

"I'm sure even the premier club in Geelong would say that there's improvement in them … we're a very young list, so there's going to be some improvement in that regard.

"You'd like to think that every player on your list can improve, and with that should come natural improvement from the team. If Collingwood's not better next year we'll be going backwards."

And the Magpies appear in decent shape heading towards next season.

While stars Dane Swan, Alan Didak and Scott Pendlebury were subdued - doing strides and skipping the training drills - upwards of 30 players trained at Gosch's Paddock on Monday morning.

Captain Nick Maxwell and forward Travis Cloke were others who did limited work.

But there was no stopping the likes of second-year star Steele Sidebottom, who earlier led the way in the time trial.

"He was very impressive last year I hear, when he first came in," Buckley said of the promising midfielder.

"He's the rabbit out the front of the boys and he gives them something to chase down.

"[But] it's all about where they (the players) are individually. They've set themselves a target now to beat and surpass when we do the test again, probably in six weeks' time."