NEW ADELAIDE coach Matthew Nicks says he will mend a fractured Crows family by demanding a selfless culture at the club.

But Nicks believes concerns about a poor Crows culture have been overblown amid massive upheaval at the club.

"I am looking forward ... by no means am I going back to find negatives," Nicks told reporters on Tuesday.

"(Building culture) takes a number of years but we have already got it underway ... I'm confident that we're already well and truly on track."

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Nicks' primary objective was restoring pride for fans after the Crows missed the finals in consecutive seasons after being losing 2017 grand finalists.

Matthew Nicks in action for Sydney back in 2000.





"The main thing ... is let's get back to playing footy that our supporters will be proud to come and watch," Nicks said.

"If you give it everything you have got ... and you can't get the job done, there's no doubt your supporters go home happy and proud that they're part of this group or this family.

"And that's the goal ... to bring the family back together and that we have all got each other's backs."

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The 44-year-old is departing GWS, where he was senior assistant to head coach Leon Cameron last season, after spending the previous eight years in various assistant roles at Port Adelaide.

Matthew Nicks fronts the media for the first time as Adelaide coach.



Nicks has a three-year contract to replace Don Pyke, who quit as coach last month.

In addition to Pyke's resignation, Taylor Walker has stood down as co-captain and an external review into the club resulted in the sackings of football manager Brett Burton and senior assistant coach Scott Camporeale.

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A swathe of stalwart players are exiting with confirmed moves of Eddie Betts (Carlton), Sam Jacobs (GWS), Hugh Greenwood (Gold Coast) and Cam Ellis-Yolmen (Brisbane) while Josh Jenkins and Alex Keath are seeking trades.

The Telstra AFL Trade Period ends on Wednesday night and Nicks said he would leave Adelaide's dealings solely with list manager Justin Reid.

"I will let him do his job but at the same time, Reidy and I have an understanding of exactly where we're heading and we're on the same page," he said.

Crows players watch their new coach.



Nicks had already spoken with reigning club champion Brad Crouch, who is being wooed with multi-million dollar, long-term offers from rivals despite still being contracted until the end of next season.

"We will be doing our best to keep him here and part of that is getting the right culture, or continuing to improve our culture, to get where we need to keep him on board," Nicks said.

Despite the exodus of experience, the Crows retained "an amazing core list of players".

"We're losing some experience and moving on some experience," Nicks said.

"But that is only going to make way for some really talented youngsters to show what they have got.

"We are probably going to be challenged with some inconsistency and that is what happens when you play as a younger player.

"(But) it's not going to be an issue as long as that player is playing the way we want to play and that he has got his mate's back."