Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has expressed empathy with the Yellow and Black faithful in light of the team’s disappointing start to the 2014 season.

The Tigers are in 14^th place on the league ladder four rounds in, with one win and three losses, but Hardwick has vowed that, together, they will turn the situation around.

“We are capable of playing some really good footy.  We’ve just got to get back to playing our best,” Hardwick told SEN.

“I’m disappointed on the players’ behalf that we haven’t shown our fans thus far.

“We’re looking forward to getting back the faith and respect of our supporters.  We haven’t delivered like we thought we would, and that’s one thing I, the coaching staff, and playing group, have got to take on board to get better.

“We know our best is still in front of us, we’ve just got to make sure we continue to work hard to get the best out of ourselves . . .

“We’ve got a really strong team ethos to our jumper.  When our players put on the jumper, they realise the non-negotiables which come with that . . . they sign a contract when they put it on.

“Every now and then, as a coaching fraternity, and a playing fraternity, we won’t live up to those expectations, and that’s where we’ve got to get better.

“We acknowledge that, we take that on board, and that’s our challenge as a footy club.  At the moment, we’re nowhere near where we want to be and we’ve just got to continue to work hard and demand those non-negotiables.

“The difference is, when you do those things 100% of the time, that’s when you’re a challenger.

“At the moment, we’re not quite there, and that’s our challenge.”