Sydney captain Josh Kennedy says his struggling AFL side have a mountain of work to do in the second half of their campaign, as they face the Everest of AFL challenges to make the finals.
The 16th-placed Swans have won just three of their first 10 matches and head into Thursday night's grand final rematch against the Western Bulldogs three wins off eighth spot.
No team has made the finals after a 0-6 start , but the defiant Swans are clinging to the mathematical hope of making the top eight.
Sydney sparked hopes of a a full scale revival and late charge to the finals by winning three in a row, but lost to Hawthorn in the last game before their bye.
Champion midfielder Kennedy has played in the finals in each of his first seven seasons at Sydney, but concedes the first half of the current campaign has been his toughest period at the club.
"Certainly (it's the toughest) that I've been a part of, no doubt," Kennedy said.
"But it's a good challenge. We've learnt a lot about ourselves and individuals within the footy club and the team and look forward to the challenge ahead.
"It's certainly not over, so long as we're some sort of mathematical chance the belief is still there.
"We've got a mountain of work to do for the remainder of this season, so we won't be shying away from that.
"We're going to try and work hard and turn things around."
For Kennedy, there's no secret or insurmountable problem they need to solve to revive their season.
"I think it's pretty simple the games we have won, we've done the basics well and we've just got to be able to do that and maintain that for four quarters," he said.
He hopes the big match atmosphere of Thursday's game against the Bulldogs will spark the Swans, as well as facing an opponent who also revels in the bearpit of contested football.
"It's a real strength of theirs, it's been a real strength of ours, albeit this year we've probably let ourselves down in that area," Kennedy said.
"So what better way to try and turn it around than against the best in the comp and that's the Doggies in terms of contested footy.
"I look forward to the challenge and to try and match it with them in that area."
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