Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has a blunt mantra.

“I’m not going to waste time dreaming about tomorrow. I’m just going to work my arse off today,” he told AAP.

Many Power fans are dreaming of a premiership.

Beaten by a whisker in a preliminary final last season by eventual premiers Hawthorn, pundits also believe Port are ripe for the ultimate success.

On Hinkley’s desk at his Alberton headquarters sits the AFL season guide. The Power’s chapter is titled: Port Primed For Second Flag.

Hinkley acknowledges the headline is a common sentiment – but he couldn’t care less.

“I don’t worry about what expectation is … I’m certainly not going to let it influence me,” he said.

“External people, I can’t control their thinking.

“All I can do is make sure I can control what we do here at Port inside the club. And that is to make sure we work really hard to give ourselves the best chance.”

Port’s story under Hinkley is compelling – he took over for season 2013 when the club was a basket-case on and off the field – propped up by AFL money to survive and missing the finals for five consecutive years.

Hinkley engineered an unexpected return to the play-offs in 2013 and Port finished fifth.

Last year, deploying a brash running brand, Port were early pacesetters and placed third.

Hinkley knows Port’s graph is expected to continue to rise, particularly given the recruitment of precociously talented tall Paddy Ryder from Essendon and luring ex-Brisbane coach and triple premiership captain Michael Voss to their coaching staff.

But Hinkley won’t dream of possibilities – he just wants to bridge what he calls the small margins between victory and defeat.

“What happens, the higher up the ladder you get, those small margins are still quite big to close – so it’s a small margin but it’s a big gap,” he said.

Ryder could be Port’s previously missing link, offering ruck support to workhorse Matthew Lobbe and adding forward firepower to a side that averaged a healthy 100 points a game last season.

“What we want to make sure we do when we bring people into the Port Adelaide football club is we bring character first – and he ticks that box, Paddy is an outstanding person,” Hinkley said.

“We’re excited with what he might be able to bring to our football team.”

Hinkley lost no frontliners from last year – ex-captain Dom Cassisi retired midseason and five delistings were fringe players.

Port’s midfield runs deep, headed by All-Australians Travis Boak and Robbie Gray with support from Hamish Hartlett, Brad Ebert, Jared Polec and Ollie Wines, who at age 20 has been added to the leadership group.

The Power’s forward line boasts abundant riches from marking targets Jay Schulz and Justin Westhoff to smaller threats Chad Wingard and Angus Monfries; their backline is largely unheralded but most effective.

And they have a fitness chief considered the best in the business, world-renowned Darren Burgess.

“We have trained harder, we have done more in this pre-season … we think we have got horribly close to that (maximum) level,” Hinkley said.

So Hinkley has concentrated on consolidation, bringing their best for longer, and eradicating midseason slumps – Port lost five games in a row in 2013, and six in eight matches last season.

“Most pure football people would tell you `you can’t be up all season’,” Hinkley said.

“I’m not sure I want to believe that … I think it’s possible, but at this level of competition, it’s bloody hard.”

PORT ADELAIDE

Coach: Ken Hinkley

Captain: Travis Boak

Last five years: 10-16-14-5-3

Premierships: 1 (2004)

Key five: Chad Wingard, Travis Boak, Justin Westhoff, Matthew Lobbe, Robbie Gray.

One to watch: Paddy Ryder. The former Essendon big man could form one of the most potent ruck tandems in the AFL alongside Matthew Lobbe. With his combination of size, skill and athleticism, he may prove to be the final piece of Ken Hinkley’s premiership puzzle.

Ins: Logan Austin (Belconnen ACT), Billy Frampton (South Fremantle WAFL), Dougal Howard (Murray U18), Kane Mitchell (Port Adelaide rookie), Jesse Palmer (North Ballarat U18), Paddy Ryder (Essendon).

Outs: Dom Cassisi (retired), Campbell Heath (delisted), Cam Hitchcock (delisted), Ben Newton (Melbourne), Lewis Stevenson (delisted).

Best line-up:

B: Jasper Pittard, Alipate Carlile, Tom Jonas

HB: Matthew Broadbent, Jackson Trengove, Cam O’Shea

C: Jared Polec, Travis Boak, Brad Ebert

HF: Robbie Gray, Justin Westhoff, Chad Wingard

F: Angus Monfries, Jay Schulz, Paddy Ryder

R: Matthew Lobbe, Hamish Hartlett, Ollie Wines

I: Matt White, Kane Cornes, Jarman Impey, Andrew Moore

Predicted finish: 3rd

Betting (William Hill)

To win the flag: $5.50

To make the top eight: $1.20