COLLINGWOOD has moved to reassure fans concerned with the direction the club, declaring it plans to contend with Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs in the race for a flag in the coming years.
Magpies coach Nathan Buckley believes his side has the makings of a top-four team once it irons out its injury problems and its young players gain the necessary experience required to compete at AFL level consistently.
Buckley outlined the club's premiership plan hinges on the existing core of players including captain Scott Pendlebury, star midfielders Dayne Beams and Steele Sidebottom and key talls Ben Reid and Travis Cloke.
The club also believes its emerging leaders – of which Jamie Elliott is one – are showing the right signs to take the club to the next level.
"I can't tell you exactly how long it's going to take, because I thought we were going to do better this year," Buckley said at Monday night's fan forum at the MCG.
"And if we had more players stand up we definitely would have. But next year I expect us to play the type of footy we played in the first half of the year for longer."
Buckley said transitional running and skill execution under pressure were two key elements the club hoped to improve on in 2015.
The Magpies coach also dismissed reports free agent forward Tyson Goldsack was going to leave the club to join Port Adelaide, with Buckley saying he was "very confident" the 27-year-old would remain at the Westpac Centre beyond 2015.
