St Kilda's AFL season of discontent demands the Saints undertake an extensive overhaul on and off the field, coach Alan Richardson has conceded.
North Melbourne hammered the final nail into St Kilda's 2018 coffin with a 17.15 (117) to 14.10 (94) round 23 win at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
At the end of the fifth season of a painstaking rebuild under Richardson, the Saints slumped to 16th with a disastrous four wins, one draw and 17 losses.
Richardson admits such a sorry record at the end of a season where a first finals appearance since 2011 was hoped for, if not expected, demands action.
"There'll be a lot of change to our footy program," Richardson said.
"You can imagine when you've had a year like we've had, one that's been nowhere near our own expectation, that reviews have been ongoing.
"There will be change to the way we set up our footy program and a lot of that has already happened. There's a lot of stuff that needs to happen. We'll certainly look at everything.
"We'll look to improve our method, we'll look to improve the way we train, the team that wins the premiership will do that too, but clearly we've got a bit of work to do."
Changes have already begun as football chief Simon Lethlean, who joined the club in December, continued an extensive review as St Kilda's season sank further into the mire.
Assistant coaches Simon McPhee, Rohan Welsh and Lindsay Gilbee were told they will not be offered new contracts, while former Adelaide player James Gallagher was appointed to the role of list manager, vacated by Tony Elshaug earlier this year.
Despite coming in for stinging criticism as the season unravelled, Richardson, still contracted for two years, will be offered more support rather than made to be a scapegoat.
Key to the Saints' hopes for a quick revival will be their ability to attract free agents and trade targets like Sydney's Dan Hannebery.
"I would hope that when players look at us, they look at the fact that we've been heading the right way for three or four years," Richardson said.
"And this year has been disappointing, this year has definitely been a slip, where we've had some experienced superstars (Nick Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna) leave our team and we've ended up really young.
"We've definitely slipped ... there's no doubt about that but I think this group has the potential to bounce (back) pretty quickly.
"It's been frustrating and we've been inconsistent but our best footy is strong."
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