Essendon Chairman Lindsay Tanner has praised the Club’s resilience and says fans can look forward to a brighter future.

Tanner takes over after Paul Little stood down at last night’s Annual General Meeting.

Little had been in the position since July 2013 and led the Club through a time of significant upheaval.

Tanner, a former Federal politician, said he would look to continue the progress made by Little and his Board.

“A huge amount of work has been done to regenerate the Club already, there is a lot of things in place after a very difficult period,” Tanner said. 

“I’m very proud of the Club.  More than anything I’m proud of the resilience and strength of our players, our supporters, the members, and the staff.

“Everybody has been put under enormous pressure and other organisations would have folded… but we’ve stayed united, we’ve stayed strong and we’re entitled to look forward to a much rosier future.

“We’ve still got one big hurdle to get over, hopefully we will clear that and hopefully that’ll be soon but there is no question that we’re heading to a better future.” 

Tanner has been a lifelong supporter of the Bombers and joined the Board earlier this year. 

He said the Essendon members should be repaid for their support in recent seasons.

“I’ve been a passionate Essendon fan since I was about six years old,” he said.

“I’ve been there in the outer for so many of the great triumphs and tragedies over the years so it has been really interesting and enjoyable to be right at the centre of the Club. 

“We want to deliver more to our members who have been remarkably loyal and dedicated throughout very trying times.

“We just need to look for more ways to deliver better value for the significant amounts of money that they spend on their membership.”