Ben McGlynn has sounded a stern warning to his Sydney teammates: start pulling your weight or risk denting the AFL club’s proud history.

The Swans have endured their worst start to a season since 2006, losing three of their opening four matches and sliding to 13th on the ladder after last Saturday’s 43-point defeat to North Melbourne.

Coach John Longmire has come under fire for the first time in his successful tenure at the glamour club, as have the side’s underperforming midfield stars, ahead of Saturday’s clash with a resurgent Fremantle at the SCG.

McGlynn admitted the Swans had failed to put in the effort over the past four weeks but was hopeful of turning that around against a quality opponent this weekend.

“It’s not a great start for us, it’s pretty disappointing,” McGlynn said on Thursday.

“We’ve got a number of players who aren’t in form and they know who they are. They’re proud footballers and I’m sure they’re going to bounce back and get themselves into form.

“But we need to work together. It’s not just about the midfield – it’s all players on the field that have to contribute.

“I guess it does start in the middle, but everyone needs to pull their weight and we’re not having everyone at the moment going in the right direction.”

The likes of Keiren Jack, Dan Hannebery, Ryan O’Keefe and Jarrad McVeigh have been among those criticised for their slump in form and McGlynn reckons the only way they can recover is through hard work.

“We need to not just think about ourselves and go play for ourselves, we need to really come out and really perform for everyone that’s involved in the footy club,” he said.

“The foundation the players before us have left, I think we need to dig into that.

“It’s a proud football club and we really need to do it for the people that have done the hard yards for this footy club.”

Kurt Tippett is a chance of making his season debut this weekend and could provide a much-needed boost in the Swans’ forward line.

“He’ll train today and they’ll make a call on him – but he’s not the quick fix,” McGlynn said.

“It’s going to be good to have him in the team and he’ll provide us a target up forward, but whoever lines up on the weekend, we’re just looking for four quarters of effort.”