The Tigers' 56-point loss to Carlton on Thursday night, combined with their early NAB Cup disaster against Hawthorn, has not painted an ideal picture for the year ahead.
But Newman remains confident fans will witness success if they're patient.
"It's not all going to be doom and gloom," he said, after the round-one loss at the MCG.
"We know we've got some things to work on but we believe in our structures we've put in place and our game plan.
"It takes time. The more we train it, the more we can adapt to it and the more competitive we'll be throughout the weeks."
The Richmond skipper admitted it was frustrating to kick off the season with such a disappointing result after a long summer.
He said Thursday night's game had exposed flaws in the Tigers' structure, especially down back, after the Blues got on top across the ground.
"You always want to get off to a good start and get a win on the board, especially with a young group," he said.
"It's a little bit frustrating but all we can do now is move on and learn from our mistakes and not dwell on it.
"The main positive is, a lot of it is our fault.
"All credit to Carlton, their pressure is terrific and they move the ball extremely well.
"There are just some things we need to tighten up and we didn't take our opportunities when we could have."
Newman said new coach Damien Hardwick had proved to have a "huge influence" over the group and had placed a large focus on the players increasing their hardness.
"At times our pressure wasn't too bad and when we did put pressure on and stick tackles, we actually turned the ball over," he said.
"It's probably the thing we're trying to pride ourselves on but we still have a long way to go.
"We want to be known for our ferocity around the footy. We'll just go back and train that like we've been doing throughout the summer and just try and tinker a few things."
