THE OVERWHELMING feeling at Collingwood is that season 2013 was a waste.
At the Magpies' best and fairest on Friday night, President Eddie McGuire accepted selfishness had been a factor in the club's failed year.
Coach Nathan Buckley said: "We beat ourselves".
Side by side is not merely a line in the club's song, it is an expectation, Buckley said.
McGuire said those not adhering to the club's motto or standards would not last long.
"It's not about being side by side when you're being supported and then turning your back when it doesn't suit," he said.
"Any form of selfishness will not be tolerated."
Copeland Trophy winner, for the second time, and vice-captain Scott Pendlebury spoke of the need for the team to improve the way it meshed together.
"To get where we're going to have to get like Freo and Hawthorn. They're so connected, they don't look out of sync ever," he said after the count.
"For us we've talked about side by side and watching those clubs demonstrate that is sending a message to us as a group."
Every part of the club's program was put through a rigorous review at the end of the season, as the bitter taste of a first-round finals exit lingered.
Buckley arrived at the conclusion not enough credence was placed in a team-first ethos.
"We've got the necessary talent to contend, but this year we beat ourselves," Buckley said.
"It won't happen again and we're putting everything in place to make sure it doesn't."
Already preparations have begun for the Magpies' 2014 campaign.
Players have started to float through the gym at the Westpac Centre, they have organised running sessions together and injured players have foregone overseas trips to continue their rehabilitation processes.
Change has swept through the club's training facility's corridors. More is on the horizon.
Each player has been given his individual off-season training program to follow. It is now up to the players to hold up their end of the bargain.
During his acceptance speech, Pendlebury praised Buckley for his willingness to accept the players' feedback.
"You've opened the club up. You've allowed the players to take ownership of the program," Pendlebury said, as Buckley stood four feet away on stage.
The star midfielder admitted 2014 couldn't come soon enough.
"I'm looking forward to 2014. And to the guys that are here, let's get to work," Pendlebury said.
