NEW COACH Brad Scott has urged expectant Essendon fans to be patient as he attempts to turn their fortunes around.
Scott's unveiling at Essendon on Friday came as former Bombers coach and current board member Kevin Sheedy slammed the club for saying Scott was fully endorsed by the board, revealing he had voted for the return of James Hird.
Bombers president Dave Barham hailed a new era for the strife-torn club at Scott's unveiling on Friday, with club great Matthew Lloyd declaring the 46-year-old could instantly engineer a finals return in 2023.
But Scott, who played in two Brisbane Lions flags and coached North Melbourne to a pair of preliminary finals, warned success would not be automatic.
Essendon have won an equal record 16 AFL/VFL premierships - tied with arch rivals Carlton - but have not won a finals match since 2004.
"The longer you spend in football, the more you realise that you're not entitled to anything," Scott said.
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"Regardless of which club you're at and what opportunities you have, it all comes back to the same thing; hard work, discipline, being united and being really clear on the direction and the role that everyone needs to play.
"That's going to be a big challenge here.
"But if you're not united and you're not going in the same direction, I don't care what players you've got and what facilities you've got, none of that matters."
Sheedy, meanwhile, said he would support Scott as coach despite pushing for Hird to return to the top job, blasting the club for a statement on Thursday that said the board fully endorsed the appointment.
"I am extremely disappointed that the comment from my club was that it was fully endorsed, when in fact I voted for James Hird to be the coach of Essendon," Sheedy told News Corp. "The vote was 6-1.
"I want to make sure all the fans know that I voted for James Hird and I'm extremely disappointed with the report that went out from the Essendon media department. I'm not happy.
"I actually felt insulted that Hird would think I voted against him after what he's done for our club."
Asked about Sheedy's comments by AFL.com.au's Damian Barrett on Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio, Scott said: "I think there are some things I can control and that's almost 100 per cent the football department and the football program.
"The commitment that Essendon has given me is that I will have autonomy in the football department, I'll be able to build a program that we aim to be a world-class football program and that's my focus and there's a lot of things that I can't control.
"I think once a coach starts to step out of his lane, starts to get involved in things that are quite frankly above his level, then I think we get into trouble. I understand the question and I think there will be some people who are concerned, but my focus is just on footy and I'll let the powers that be take care of the rest."
Scott declined to put a time frame on how long it will take to get Essendon back into finals contention.
He takes on a side that lost an elimination final in 2021 and slid to 15th with a 7-15 record under Rutten this year.
"We're just really focused on building a program," Scott said.
"There's only one fact when it comes to our list and that's that it is young and inexperienced.
"In terms of capability, I think there's reason for optimism, but all we have is an opportunity to build a program to get the most out of our players.
"That's what I love doing and that's what I'm looking forward to doing.
"I don't come in with a preconceived idea as to how we should play.
"I've got a lot of work to do to get to know the players, their strengths and focus on that, and we'll build a program and a style that suits that."
Barham took over as president in August and has overseen a raft of off-field changes, including the departure of CEO Xavier Campbell and turnover of board members.
He declared this time "a real chance for renewal" at the club.
"This is about re-setting the culture of this football club long-term," Barham said.
"It's not so much about next year. For me, this is about how we reset this club for sustained long-term success, and that's what we haven't had."
