Collingwood great Nathan Buckley believes Essendon need to focus on the future in order to bring stability to the club.
The Bombers are coming off the back of yet another tumultuous year, finishing 15th on the ladder and ending the season by firing coach Ben Rutten.
In Buckley’s view, the instability at the club can be traced back to the 2012 supplements saga.
“As a club they’re still recovering from 2012, it sort of feels like you’re sort of reeling from one imperfect situation to the next,” he told SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“I think leadership has probably been as tough there as anywhere, they probably feel like they were hard done by by the AFL.”
With the club having experienced relatively little success in the previous decade since the saga, Buckley’s advice for the Bombers is to move on.
“The job that Essendon need to do is just focus on being as good as they can be now and then ‘alright let’s get better tomorrow and then better tomorrow’, that’s how you get real good,” he said.
“That’s how you fight your way through situations that you can’t control, just look after the things that you can.
“It’ll take a step-by-step and they’ll have to let go of the past.”
Buckley does believe that the Bombers have gotten off on the right foot in order to move forward, endorsing the appointment of experienced coach Brad Scott.
“Brad Scott has got a wealth of experience and that’s going to be required and needed,” he said.
“(He) is probably a really good appointment in that regard to let go of the past because he has been nowhere near it.”
The Bombers will be desperate to show signs of improvement under a new coach, having last won a final in 2004.