Matthew Knights says the pressure he and the club are facing after five consecutive losses is welcomed as it highlights the expectation from fans and the media.
""I welcome the pressure, and welcome the responsibility as head coach of Essendon footy club, it's a great honour,"" he said to a packed media conference today.
""We are on a strong vision and we are going to keep guiding that course and sticking with that course, that's what my role is to do and that's my purpose. We are on a bumpy part of the journey at the moment, yes we are, but the reality is where it all ends up.
""AFL is tough and hard but we are not going to steer off our vision. My role is to just keep working with our players, supporting them, getting them to play their best and keep giving players opportunities.""
Knights admitted 2010 had been disappointing from a win/loss perspective but said it has been important for the club's end goal with new, talented players starting their AFL careers and others getting important game time into them.
""If you looked at Ben Howlett and Travis Colyer in one team at the weekend, and Tom Scully and Jack Trengove (Melbourne's No.1 and No.2 draft picks) in the other, I thought our two boys performed beautifully, as did the Melbourne guys,"" he said.
""Game time through (Scott) Gumbleton, (Jay) Neagle, (Courtenay) Dempsey, and more game time into (Michael) Hurley, (Cale) Hooker - it's all moving forward nicely, all but the win-loss ratio, at this point in time.""
Knights pointed to early criticism of Geelong's Mark Thompson and Hawthorn's Alastair Clarkson, in their coaching careers saying they stuck to their plans and won premierships.
""We are going to keep building this football club and football team. I am as confident now as as I was, say, 12 months ago, probably even more from what I have seen from our younger generation coming through,"" he said.
""Beneath the surface we understand where we are heading as a football club, sure five (wins) and 10 (losses) at is not ideal and its certainly disappointing, but it's not going to stop us in our tracks and we are not going to dwell on the five/10, we are focused on West Coast this weekend and playing better footy.""
Meanwhile, chairman David Evans today backed the coach following extensive public criticism.
He said Essendon would review Knights' performance and that of the football department at the end of the year - as occurs every year - and that the club was solely focused on the next seven rounds.
""The focus for Essendon footy club is to make sure right now we continue to go very hard for 28 points that are remaining (this season),"" Evans said on SEN today.
""At the end of the year we review, like we do every year, but right now Matthew Knights is very focused on ensuring that we continue to develop our list and get the list to continue to improve.""
Evans backed the board's 2009 decision to extend Knights' contract by two years and lock him in until the end of 2012.
He said it was important to give Knights a proper opportunity to build for ""long-term sustained performance at the top of the AFL ladder"".
""I understand that supporters are uncomfortable with what our on-field performance look like in last four or five weeks, they haven’t been good. We just have to stay the course and continue to play the kids,"" he said.
""Mid-season, the middle of winter, when you start getting injuries to young lists, you are going to get inconsistent form, and that’s what you’ve seen the past couple of weeks.
""We should be absolutely focussed, as Essendon supporters, not on eating our own, on getting behind (Knights) and getting behind the players to make sure we have a very good finish to the year.""
