Melbourne’s scars are healing, says the AFL club’s co-captain Nathan Jones.

And Jones says the simple remedy of new coach Paul Roos is curing the long-ailing Demons.

“From where we’re coming from, he has really picked us up off the canvas,” Jones told AAP.

“He has built the group back up, built up the confidence and put a lot of faith in the players.”

In Melbourne’s dark past seasons, Jones has been their shining light: he’s won consecutive club champion awards – but his club has won just six games in those seasons.

Their bleak streak is even longer.

Jones played finals in his debut year, 2006. Since then, the Demons have finished 14th, 16th, 16th, 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th.

But he says the the arrival of Roos, a premiership coach at Sydney, is offering revival.

“He has kept it really simple,” Jones said.

“His demeanour and his rapport with the players has been awesome.

“He has come in with a simple game plan of wanting to win contested footy and be a strong team around stoppages.

“And his one key point is to be a real two-way running team, to run as hard defensively as we do offensively.

“It’s relatively simple what he’s trying to do.”

Roos has acted to fix Melbourne’s glaring deficiency: midfield depth.

“That has probably been the main issue for us. We got smacked in that area in the last few years,” Jones said.

Roos recruited battled-hardened onballers Bernie Vince and Daniel Cross, and midfielders Dom Tyson (ex-Greater Western Sydney) and Viv Michie (ex-Fremantle).

Jones said the recruits would not only take the midfield load off him, but also give emerging onballers Jack Viney and Jimmy Toumpas greater opportunity to develop.

“The recruiting they have done … it takes the pressure of guys like Jimmy and Jack, they can develop – and at the same time it gives us good depth,” he said.

“We have had a really strong preseason together. I don’t think we have missed a session as a midfield group, it has been good to get that continuity.”