Dean Solomon is the first to admit that Essendon aren’t currently performing at an acceptable standard.

The Dons’ Senior Coach also concedes his side are ‘getting sick of talking’ and eager to turn things around in a difficult patch, but knows it’ll require the combined efforts of coaches and the playing group to get through the mud.

Challenges continue to rear their heads in the form of power sides like Brisbane and Geelong on the Club’s run home but Solomon is hoping his lineup – one he expects will hold its share of personnel changes – can embrace the situation at hand. 

The rundown of Solomon’s Thursday morning press conference.

Solomon on… a tough review out of the St Kilda defeat  

It showed that we're not to the level we want to be at. 

We took our time, went through it and had a discussion around why certain things did happen and didn't happen. That's what we need to do and have been doing each week, there are just some clear areas where we're not up to the level yet. 

Our effort and attitude was not where it needed to be as a baseline and there's some game plan compliance stuff that we need to tidy up as well.

As I’ve said to the players, we're getting sick of talking. We need to start doing and that's what we're going to focus on.

As a coaching group, we go back and ensure there's clarity around what is required and when, and then it's on the players as well to bring their side of it.

Solomon on… risks of an altered game style, keeping things in perspective

We’re just building trust again with a new sort of style of play that we're trying to implement. 

There’s always going to be risk in that, there’s going to be inconsistent moments. That's all part of the journey, but we're not getting to the level we need to be right now. 

I mean, it’s our dream job, we get the opportunity to play AFL footy. We spoke about (the four injured) guys who can't play this year and what they’d do to put the jumper on and get back on the MCG. 

I just think we need to embrace the situation, understand what it is, but it's still our dream job. 

It’s a good opportunity to prove ourselves individually, but collectively, and represent this club the right way. 

Solomon on… selection integrity 

From the moment I took over, the selection criteria's been really clear.

It’s not just gameday, it's during the week, it's Monday to Friday, the way you engage, the way you go about your craft, your fundamentals, leadership qualities, the whole lot. 

There'll be some changes, there’s no doubt about that - we need to do something.

I won't separate myself and the coaches won't separate ourselves from the players. We're in this together. Is the situation going well at the moment, is it ideal? No, but there's only a group of people that are going to get us out of this and we're going to provide solutions and get to work. 

Solomon on… Sharp, Robey, the young brigade 

They’re playing a great role. 

I mean, they did impact when they went into the midfield, there's no doubt about that, but they're 18-year-old boys and we’ve got to manage their loads throughout the year. Over the last couple of weeks, a lot of the young guys have become a bit snotty and a bit run down, that's all part of the journey. 

So they’ll get exposure, but we can't break them down either. What it does do, it gives us an insight to the future and what those guys are capable of and they're only going to get better.

The young guys have been great. We've exposed them to really important roles and they've stood up, so it's impressive and it's exciting for the future. 

We’re giving a taste of what AFL looks like, and, you know, I think we played Robey on Patrick Cripps back when we played, just giving them exposure to the best and they can implement that into the game and it makes them hungry to be the best themselves. 

Solomon on… Brisbane, the run home 

How good, we get to go on the road against the best in the comp, compare ourselves, get up there and have a go.

Last year we went up there in a very similar situation, undermanned and did quite well.

We respect the Lions, we love what they've created culturally and the way that they play. We understand what they do well, but we’ve really got to focus on us, how we get going and follow suit. 

We've got some massive challenges. Brisbane, Sydney, Geelong, they're all coming up so it’s a big six or seven weeks for us. Right here right now, I’ve just got to focus on that.  

This is the second time I've fulfilled the interim coaching role and if it's not a challenge, it's not worth it. I've always thought that and I've actually loved every moment of this.

This is where people get to work on trying to find solutions and look for the future, and I'm not trying to get bogged down. It's about what we can do and who wants to come along for the ride.

For our members and supporters, we understand that the weekends haven't looked great, but just be sure that we're doing everything we can on the inside to ensure that in the medium-to-long term, we'll be in good health.