COACH Paul Roos says Melbourne definitely made “significant improvements” in 2014.

Although the Demons had a disappointing month in August, their period from rounds four to 13, when they won their four matches for the season was vastly improved from any patch displayed in 2013, when the club notched up just two victories.

Speaking to Dee TV, Roos said had Melbourne’s early form been displayed at the end of the season, the general view on the club could have been different.

“The disappointing thing for everyone was that if the season was in reverse and you started like we finished, you’d talk about it completely differently,” he said.

“However, we’re disappointed with the finish and we’ve just got to identify reasons why and that’s what the off-season is for.

“Unfortunately we had seven or eight guys who in our final few weeks had run out of steam – they hadn’t had pre-seasons. There are all reasons for it, but I think overall we’ve improved, but we’ve got to continue to get better – there’s no question about that.”

Roos said it was easy to remember the latter part of any season and forget about positives that had happened before hand.

“Whether it’s our team or other teams, depending on where you finish and how you finish the last three or four weeks – you tend to remember it and we remember it as well,” he said.

“That’s the challenge for the coaches and the players – is not to look at it negatively. That’s what we’ve got to do – dissect the season in its entirety, otherwise you do go away a bit flat on the season and how we finished off, even though I thought [our final round against] North Melbourne was one of our better games for the year, given they were going into a finals series.

“Round 23 was actually not a bad finish, but the things that leave a bad taste in your mouth are the Lions game and the Giants game and they were really disappointing.”

Meanwhile, Roos said defenders Dean Terlich and Alex Georgiou, plus the rest of the Melbourne squad, were left in no doubt about his thoughts on the costumes worn by the duo at the recent ‘Mad Monday’.

“I think the players are under no illusion as to my thoughts. I think as a footy club, what I mentioned to the players, there are opportunities and threats. We’ve got to minimise the threats,” he said.

“We’ve got to recognise that we can’t do things the same way in a sense that Geelong do or Hawthorn do, because if they have a minor hiccup, then people say ‘it’s a really good footy club and it’s out of character’.

“If you’re a bottom club and you have a hiccup like we did on that Monday, it’s not a minor hiccup in my view – it’s a major oversight in the thought process. I know both players were remorseful, but it’s just a lack of thought.

“We’ve got to turn these threats into opportunities to show the public that we want to be a good football club and we are a good football club and we are going to continue to get better.”