NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott says his second year at the helm has not been a success, with the club finishing ninth for the second season in a row.
Despite ending the season on a high with a 13-point win over Richmond, Scott was "bitterly" disappointed that his side had once again missed out on playing finals football.
"We're not where we want to be and it's bitterly disappointing that we're not [in the finals]," Scott said after the game.
"But it does direct our pre-season a fair bit in terms of what transpired this year.
"We had specific deficiencies we needed to address last year, I think we've gone some way to addressing those."
Although North Melbourne's ladder position may not have improved from 2010, the side has still shown positive development in many areas.
Ruckman Todd Goldstein has thrived in the absence of the injured Hamish McIntosh, while forward Drew Petrie and midfielder Daniel Wells have returned to full fitness and form.
The Kangaroos also blooded seven debutants this year with high draft picks Shaun Atley and Kieran Harper impressive in their first year, while mature-aged rookie Cam Pederson looks likely to play a role in the future.
Now that the season is over, Scott has time to reflect and while he has seen improvement in his side's development, he also acknowledges they have a long way to go if they are to break into the top eight next year.
"There are still some things [we need to work on] and to put it very bluntly and very simplistically our skill level and efficiency with the ball needs to improve," Scott said.
"That's let us down in stages this year, both in front of goal and with general field kicking and we need to improve that."
While the players will now head off on holidays before beginning the pre-season in November, Scott will turn his attention to reviewing his list.
A key defender will be high on Scott's wish list come the AFL's exchange period in October, and he said the club would be aggressive in its attempt to grow the playing group.
"We are absolutely hell bent on improving our playing list," Scott said.
"We'll leave no stone unturned in trying to improve because we are where we are, and it's not good enough so we've got to improve our list.
"We've got to improve across the board - players, coaches, everyone involved at the club - and we'll be really aggressive in trying to do that."
