"There's just this negative vibe around the footy club," said Roos. "I'm not talking about the footy department or inside the club, but there's just this persona that we seem to represent. When we win, you don't hear from anyone, and when we do it's still a bit negative. "When we beat Geelong the attitude was, 'Well, you'll never win down there again.' I mean ... gee whiz. When we beat Brisbane, it was like, 'We'd rather lose than play like that.' Holy hell. It's fascinating when you're not a Melbourne person to come in and see that. "It's not that I'm angry about the emails I get, but I just think it's very negative. I completely understand how our supporters must feel, but you just have to wonder. "If supporters are telling you they are expecting to lose driving to the game, there's no doubt there's a vibe that must rub off on at least a small group of players. That's just something they [the players] have got to get over. I'm sick of talking about it." Roos compared the negative vibe around Melbourne to the long-time stigma carried by Richmond for finishing ninth.

"I heard Trent Cotchin asked about it a few weeks ago and he had no idea about it. These reputations have nothing to do with the players or the coaches and yet you keep hearing, 'Richmond's finished ninth, Richmond's finished ninth.' "When I was in Sydney the stigma for years was this view that we'd never win a premiership." Roos told Fairfax Media he had received emails from several supporters on Tuesday acknowledging their negativity and apologising for it. That followed his comments on Monday night on AFL 360, which included the statement: "I'm learning a lot about the Melbourne footy club because I've never been there prior to last year. "There's no doubt that there's this veil of negativity that exists, and I'm talking about the whole football club, and it's fuelled by everyone."

Jackson said: "I know Roosy's comments didn't come over the way he meant them to come over. He knows how engaged we are as a footy club and he has responded to the emails from fans, just as I have. "They [Melbourne supporters] have had a horrific journey. I understand their frustration. They've had a tough gig and, of course, I wish the last two weeks hadn't happened. "But I just want to reassure them that we are in a hell of a better position now than we were in 2013 and probably the best position we've been in for a decade." Jackson also responded to criticism from Matthew Lloyd on Channel Nine, referring to Roos' "outdated game style". "We brought Roosy in with the primary aim to fix the culture and the leadership and create structures around our football club," said Jackson.

"We wanted him to put in place those structures for a young coach to be there for the next five years at least. "That's what Simon Goodwin will inherit. Roosy's taught them contested football and defensive skills and I'm not sure we've got enough talent yet to take the next step with our playing style, but I'm sure that will start next year."