Essendon coach James Hird has full faith inthe club’s current fitness staff despite the club having a larger than normal injury list thisseason.

David Zaharakis, Kyle Reimers, Michael Hibberd,Mark McVeigh, Michael Hurley and Paddy Ryder all missed last Friday night's lossto Hawthorn with injuries.

Hird said blame would not fall on the fitnessstaff led by High Performance coach Dean Robinson.

""We've got full confidence in Dean, and he'sgot our full support,"" Hird told 3AW.

""It's not just Dean. The program has beenput together by a number of people, myself included.

""I accept total responsibility in where theprogram's at and the fact that we have got those injuries. The buck stops withme.

""Dean's a part of the process, but he's notstanding out there on his own, that's for sure.""

Despite the injuries this season, Hird said hemaintained belief that the Bombers' conditioning strategy – said to be heavily focusedduring the pre-season on adding lower body muscle mass – would deliverlong-term results.

""We're confident it will build our team to bea successful team,"" he said.

Hird said Hurley would be available to faceAdelaide this week after recovering from a hamstring strain, and Ryder was aweek away from a comeback from his calf injury.

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