Essendon's new General Manager of Performance Daniel McPherson is eager to ‘hit the ground running’ ahead of the team’s return to training on November 21.

The former Melbourne football operations boss is amongst many new Essendon football staff changes following the club’s external review in preparation for season 2023.

McPherson is joined by Travis Cloke (VFLW Senior Coach, Development Coach), Ben Jacobs (AFL Assistant Midfield Coach), Michael Hurley (AFL Development Coach), Leigh Tudor (VFL Senior Coach) and Cam Roberts (Head of Development) who are all stepping into new roles.

Leading into pre-season, McPherson is keen to continue to spend the next several weeks building relationships amongst all football staff in hope of allowing a smooth transition for the players in their return.

“It’s a great opportunity for the footy department staff to get to know each other more, especially as we have a few new guys here,” McPherson said.

“It’s really about clarifying everyone’s role and putting some really strong plans in place so when the boys return in November, we really hit the ground running.”

McPherson himself is looking forward to working closely with new senior coach Brad Scott and GM, Football Josh Mahoney as he helps guide and uphold the performance standards set across the club.

“Our job is to create a really strong football program to put around the players to give them the best opportunity to be the best they can both individually and collectively,” McPherson said.

“We have a really strong assistant coaching team, but then there has also been a strong emphasis on bolstering up the development, which is great considering we have a young playing list.”

Essendon’s football staff will get their first opportunity with the team on November 21, the scheduled return date for first to fourth year players.