Melbourne captain Max Gawn has responded to stinging criticism of the under-fire AFL club, admitting the Demons need to find a way to stop beating themselves with poor skill execution.
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Simon Goodwin's men have a 1-3 record this season and have managed just five wins from their past 26 games, ahead of Saturday's meeting with Gold Coast at Giants Stadium.
Their form has prompted scathing assessments from the likes of club great David Schwarz and former Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade.
Gawn conceded there was a familiar pattern to Sunday's 27-point defeat to Richmond, who had not won in three previous matches since the season restart in June.
"We won a lot of stats such as inside-50s, clearances, contested possessions and (we're) still not converting," Gawn told RSN radio.
"It's frustrating ... there is a common trend with our skill execution at times.
"With all my coaches that I've had, it hasn't been something that a lot of coaches really touch on a lot, skill execution, but he (Goodwin) has this week."
Gawn said the Demons had welcomed the chance to escape Victoria during their hub stay at Manly, on Sydney's northern beaches.
He said the solution to the team's woes would be found at training but acknowledged working in small groups under strict AFL coronavirus protocols is another hurdle to overcome.
"This team, this club, has really got to put themselves under pressure at training," Gawn said.
"We have to deal with Richmond and Geelong at training, so when it comes to this unbelievable pressure that Richmond put on the ball carrier, we're able to do it.
"We can't just hope the other team's off at times with their pressure.
"There needs to be a high level of training, which is hard to do in groups of eight and I do agree with some of the comments around that, but it's something we've got to get better at and we want to do it this year."
Gawn said the Demons still had the desire and ability to turn their form around in 2020.
"I want to win," he said.
"I understand there's a process and we're playing some pretty good teams at the moment, but I still think we're in really good chances throughout games to win games and we're almost losing it ourselves at times.
"That's the most disappointing part."
Gawn said off-season recruit Harley Bennell was one player who could come back into the side against Gold Coast and raise the bar on skill level.
He listed former captain Nathan Jones, Neville Jetta and Oscar McDonald as other players who will come into consideration for senior recalls this week.
Australian Associated Press
