Mark Thompson is the new coach at Essendon. Source: Scott Barbour / Getty Images
MARK Thompson is far from the first coach to play down his club's premiership aspirations on the first day of pre-season training.
Still, he might have broken new ground yesterday by declaring winning back respect for his club was more important than climbing the premiership dais.
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Essendon triedattempted to blaze a bright path to the futureas new coach Thompson turned up for work and the club signed Fujitsu as a co-major sponsor at its new Tullamarine home.
Yet the dramatic events of this past season, along and all that goes with it - potential infraction notices for players, a tarnished brand and a confused supporter base is still plaguing tugging at the club's duffel coat.
Which is why Thompson's admission about a brand-new beginning future with a better respect for the AFL's rules was so welcome yesterday.
It won't mean Essendon isn't trying to win the 2014 flag - above all else Thompson, after all, is a masterful premiership-winning coach.
But "Whatever It Takes", the slogan that proved darkly ironiccomical this year, has been replaced by yesterday's "We Are Proudly Essendon" in every way.
Thompson says he has professed to have moved on from the anger and bitterness of the club's penalties and was determined to see Essendon again become "Australia's favourite football club" again, as president Paul Little described it.
Dons confident of no infraction notices
"We are going to do a lot of things right," Thompson said with that determined stare.
"We aren't putting limitations (on the year). We are going to be the best we can be, but more importantly, we are going to try to do things right.
"We have to make (the supporters) and make them proud of our club.
"We won't have many closed sessions, we are going to invite members in and restore some faith back in us, and give them a better experience than they have had in the past."
The ribbon will be cut at the Bombers' Tullamarine headquarters on Monday, but Thompson would be aware it is the people inside that club that make it, not flash new facilities.
Luckily he has the likes of veteran Dustin Fletcher, - football's Benjamin Button - who was running laps early yesterday in driving rain, and well ahead of his pre-season return date.
Thompson did give a few hints; the club is determined to recruit a young ruckman rather than WA's Dayle Garlett and hopeful of playing Michael Hurley back,in defence if he can convince the Bombers match committee.
If Essendon's intention yesterday may have been present to trumpet its sponsors and facilities, but the questions kept coming about the infraction notices, about the absent James Hird, and about the club's difficult 2013.
No one can truly say the infraction notices won't happenrear their heads.
All we know is that all of the AFL, the AFL Players Association and the Federal Government all believe they aren't coming.
World Anti-Doping AgencyAnd while we are at it, WADA boss John Fahey made no sense in his comments to the ABC last week, speaking He spoke of Essendon still being punished under the AFL's code of conduct in a story that didn't rule out Hird being punished under retrospective legislation.
Yet Essendon and its coaches have already been hitpunished by the AFL - double jeopardy simply can't and won't be applied by City Hallthe AFL.
And legal eagles would have a field day if WADA tried to backdate legislation punishing coaches for their players using banned substances.
Still, until ASADA's review is complete and we find out either way, those dark clouds evident yesterday will still be lurking.
For the time being, Essendon has a new home, a new start, a new coach and a new determination to win the respect of the competition.
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