Demons too negative in AFL, says Roos

Frustrated Melbourne coach Paul Roos has blasted the negativity that persists at the struggling AFL club.

A week after Port Adelaide thumped them by 98 points, the Demons were terrible again in the first half of Sunday’s loss to Carlton.

Melbourne rallied in the second half to only lose by 23 points, but Roos made it clear post-match he took no comfort from that.

Roos said Demons fans deserved better than how the team had started Sunday’s game.

And on Monday night, Roos said the culture at the club still needed plenty of work.

“There’s no doubt there’s this veil of negativity that exists – and I’m talking about the whole football club,” he told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.

“It’s fuelled by everyone.

“I’ve only been there two years – what I have noticed is it’s a very negative environment.

“You can’t let that worry you.

“What you have to try and work out is how do we fix it?”

Roos pointed out that Melbourne’s 2013 season, the year before he took over, was the fourth-worst in AFL history.

The Demons coach also bristled at suggestions from fans that he did not care enough.

“The things I take offence to in the emails – and not about how the team played – it’s when people say `you need to show more commitment’,” he said.

“We think about football 24-7.

“It’s offensive when people say that … `does it really hurt?’

“This is what we actually are.

“Does it hurt? It does, yeah.

“It’s hard to put into words sometimes how disappointing it is.”

Roos again said that Melbourne definitely have improved this season, but their worst football remains woeful.

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