Bombers coach John Worsfold says Essendon is striving to reach the ultimate goal of a premiership before his contract runs out.
The club announced Worsfold’s two-year contract extension on Wednesday, a deal which will take him to the end of the 2020 season.
Worsfold said the club is right in the hunt to reach its 17th flag and is in no mood to wait.
“That’s our aim, absolutely. We’re not going on a slow build – we want to get as good as we can, as quickly as we can,” Worsfold said.
“We’ve got a group we think will continue to improve over the next couple of years, for sure.
“I’ve loved my first couple of years at the footy club and we’ve got a plan in place to continue to build and grow and be successful over that period of time.”
Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell said Worsfold had the full support of the squad and agreed the club’s momentum is heading in the right direction.
“They’re very comfortable with the work John’s done, he’s got a strong relationship with the playing group.
“They certainly feel like they’re building towards something. It’s an even comp and a tough comp, so that doesn’t guarantee anything, but I think our foundations are strong.”
Worsfold said he wouldn’t be resting on his laurels after Essendon’s impressive comeback victory over Adelaide last week.
“To play finals you’ve got to win 12 games, we’ve won one, so it’s pretty easy not to get too carried away.
“If that was our 13th win I’d be a little bit satisfied, but it was one.”
The Bombers are set to face Fremantle at Optus Stadium on Saturday and Worsfold said the Dockers’ poor loss to Port Adelaide in round one would not change his side’s preparation for the match.
“We’ve got a really exciting road trip over to play in front of a new world-class stadium, so everyone is pretty pumped about taking our Essendon brand of footy over there,” Worsfold said.
“Regardless of the week that they’ve had, we would go over there knowing that we have to play at our best.
“We’re building towards becoming a more consistent team that knows the way we want to play and we focus on bringing that week in, week out.”
Worsfold praised the early form of 2017 draftee Matt Guelfi, saying he handled the pre-season so well that staff increased the young midfielder’s training load.
Guelfi – who was selected with pick 76 in the national draft – gained senior experience in the WAFL last year and Worsfold said he is “not that far off” his debut.
“We’ve had a couple injuries in the last three or four weeks that has elevated some of those guys that maybe were behind a couple of other players, but they’re right in the mix now.
“Matt has been very impressive with his training over the summer. We elevated his workload, because he was coping really well as a first-year player.
“We think he’s ready to play AFL footy if there is an opportunity for him.”
