FORMER Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse believes the club was on the verge of a dynasty before handing the reins over to Nathan Buckley.

Malthouse was replaced by Buckley after the 2011 Grand Final loss as part of the Magpies’ contentious succession plan engineered by president Eddie McGuire.

He said today a playing list overhaul wasn’t required after Collingwood’s 2010 premiership.

“I thought the club was on the verge of a mini-dynasty because it was one of the youngest premiership sides in recent history,” Malthouse said.

Malthouse’s comments will put Buckley and the Magpies under further scrutiny in the same week their finals hopes were all but extinguished by last Saturday’s 15-point loss to Carlton, which prompted McGuire to question his position at the club.

But Malthouse acknowledged that Buckley, like any new coach, had the right to mould the team in the shape he wanted.

“I’ll say this: each coach — and this is the advice I got from Allan Jeans when I took over at Footscray — (needs to) be yourself,” Malthouse told SEN radio this morning.

“I think when Nathan Buckley took that job over, that was his side. He had to do what he wanted to do with it.

“It had the ingredients of a four to five-year fling at it (another premiership) but it’s each to his own and that’s the prerogative of the coach.”

media_camera Mick Malthouse guided the Magpies to the 2010 premiership team.

Thirteen players who featured in Collingwood’s 2010 Grand Final and replay sides are no longer at the club, including Heath Shaw, Sharrod Wellingham, Dayne Beams and Heritier Lumumba, who are excelling at rival clubs.

“I thought we had a pretty good side,” Malthouse said.

“Heath Shaw won the best-and-fairest at Greater Western Sydney last year, Wellingham played in a Grand Final last year, Harry O’Brien (Lumumba) is on the up.

“If you want players out, you put players out and you bring players in to make it your own side, that’s your prerogative.

“History will show whether that’s right or wrong.”

The pressure has been on Buckley since the Magpies were thumped by Sydney in Round 1, and it turned up a notch after their upset loss to the Blues.

“THIS IS A SIDE ALMOST IN DECAY.” — LISTEN TO SAM EDMUND’S TAKE ON THE MAGPIES IN THIS WEEK’S SUPERFOOTY PODCAST

But McGuire told the Herald Sun this week he was confident Collingwood can snap out of its form slump.

“I haven’t been laid that low from the footy for a long, long time. I was completely shattered (after the loss to Carlton),” McGuire said.

“We have got faith in everybody and we are going through a hard time with injuries, but we will fight and we will fight.”

Collingwood hasn’t played finals the past two years and is currently languishing in 14th spot on the ladder with two wins from seven games.

The Magpies have been in steady decline in the five years under Buckley, who has coached the club to fourth (2012), eighth (2013), 11th (2014), 12th (2015).

media_camera Mick Malthouse with Nathan Buckley in his final year as coach.

Buckley, who coaches his 100th game this Saturday night against the Brisbane Lions, said the team must work harder to get its season back on track

“For the first time in my time at the club we were picking and choosing a bit on the field and you can’t win games of footy when you’re like that,” Buckley said on AFL 360 on Monday night.

“We need to harden up as a playing group, we need to harden up as a coaching group and we need to harden up as a club if we’re going to get anything out of this year.

“We still see ourselves as a hard-nosed side but our recent performances haven’t shown that.

“Whether you’ve played one game, whether you’ve played 100 or 200, the expectation is if you pull on the Collingwood guernsey you play a gritty style. You’re prepared to work hard, you’re involved in the grunt, you work hard to spread and outnumber against the opposition.

“We just haven’t had enough do that often enough and we get the results we get as a result.”