Is there a tougher ask in football than running the Saints? Among the football public, the perception is that St Kilda is broke again, with a dwindling core of senior players, and destined to lose both games and money in 2014.

Matt Finnis would know the state of play at Seaford/Moorabbin, having been briefed by the AFL about the chief executive task before he accepted the role of rebuilding the fractured finances - and on-field fortunes - of one of the competition's oldest clubs.

Matt Finnis has arrived at St Kilda at an opportune time.

On the surface, Finnis has taken on a task as appealing as mayor of Sarajevo. The Saints are light on for both (senior) players and money - the commodities that their 1966 premiership coach Allan Jeans said were indispensable.

But Finnis actually has arrived at an opportune time. Yes, the Saints will be down in the competition's Hades this year. But measures are in place that will significantly improve the financial position. Their player salary cap, for instance, has been reduced from bursting in 2012 to little more than the minimum of 95.5 - saving several hundred grand at a time when they're further from contention than nearly any club.