Port Adelaide coach Ken McGregor urges players to block out speculation about the club's future

PORT Adelaide Magpies coach Ken McGregor says speculation about the club's future has finally got to some of his players

Port's need to ignore distractions

PORT Adelaide Magpies coach Ken McGregor says speculation about the club's future has finally got to some of his players and says the side must re-focus ahead of a must win clash with Central at Alberton on Sunday.

Speaking in the wake of a 13.5 (83) to 2.8 (20) loss to Norwood at The Parade, McGregor said his side's form dip over the past month had partly been caused by discussion around the future of Port Adelaide in the SANFL.

"Our output is 10 or 15 per cent lower than it was a month ago,'' he said.

"There are a group of five or six players who are not performing as well as they were a month ago and it's going to be on them to find that form pretty quickly, otherwise we won't make finals.

"The players still want it really badly, but it's been a long season with a lot of (speculation) flying around for them and a lot of things distracting them.

"But our job as a coaching department and as players is to stay focused because nothing matters more than giving our best against Central this Sunday."

Port's chief focus must be on finding a way to goal against the Bulldogs, after Graham Johncock kicked the side's only two majors against Norwood.

McGregor called for his players to make a better contest up forward and do more to hold the ball in the area.

He also said shutting down Central's outside runners like Brayden O'Haraand Josh Glenn was crucial.