Essendon coach James Hird has implored his players to begin turning their improvementinto wins.

Hird's comments came after his team suffered a 30-point loss to reigningpremier Collingwood in the Anzac Day game at the MCG on Monday.

""There's a lot of hype about Essendon always, whether it be negative orpositive,"" Hird said.

""It's the club it is. The reality is, we have two wins out of five and we're back in the middleof the pack.""

""If you want to improve, and you want to be a good football club, you haveto start winning games of footy.""

""Two and a half games out of five is not enough,"" Hird said.

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The Bombers, who drew with Carlton nine days before their defeat at the handsof the Magpies, host Gold Coast at Etihad Stadium in Round 6.

But Hird isn't worried about complacency being an issue when the Dons meetthe Suns.

""We need a win,"" he said. ""We need a win to get our seasonrolling again.""

""No-one at Essendon is sitting here saying that they need something tobuild ourselves up.""

""We need to win a game of football and that should be enough to getyourself up for the game.""

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The Bombers were blown away early by Collingwood and trailed by 29 points inthe second quarter.

Yet they held their nerve, closing to within a point during the third term.

""We didn't feel like there was panic and the players didn't feel likethere was panic,"" Hird said.

""The one thing you can't question of the players at the moment is theirdesire and effort. Their desire and effort again was fantastic. But desire and effortdoesn’t make you a good football team either.""

""It's a necessary ingredient but you need a lot more than just desire andeffort,"" Hird said.

Hird was often a brilliant contributor on Anzac Day when he was an Essendonplayer.

After experiencing the occasion from the coach's box for the first time, he wasjust as exhausted as when he used to pull the boots on.

""I think it's better out in the middle,"" Hird joked. 

""But it wasgood. It was good to be coaching on such a big day. It's a great day for Australia and a great day to be part of.”

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