Former Melbourne great Greg Wells urges Melbourne players to play with mongrel

MELBOURNE great Greg Wells has urged the Demons to show more "mongrel" on and off the field and shed their "loser's syndrome".

MELBOURNE great Greg Wells has urged the Demons to show more "mongrel" on and off the field and shed their "loser's syndrome".

Wells, a successful businessman, was approached by a couple of his former teammates in an effort to get him to return to Melbourne in some capacity.

But the 62-year-old dual best-and-fairest said it was "highly unlikely", saying it was time for the next generation of players after him to serve the club.

"You would never say never, but I would say it is more unlikely than likely," Wells said.

Wells said the Demons needed to start thinking with a winner's philosophy again.

"To coin a phrase, you have to have a bit of mongrel in you - a bit of s--- in you," he said.

"That has to start with the president and the CEO and then it comes down through the line.

"Just from the sidelines, I do think they need more mongrel. They need to make some hard decisions  ... you can't be too nice in this game."

Wells played 224 games for the Dees from 1969-80.

While insisting people could not condemn the club for one game - last week's embarrassing loss to Port Adelaide - he said the players needed to stop complaining about a lack of leadership at the club.

"I don't want to set panic in motion, as it is only one loss, even though it was fairly pathetic," he said.

"What they have to do is stop these players coming out and saying 'if we had a Joel Selwood' or 'if we had a Stevie Johnson'.

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"That is a loser's syndrome. They have to break that and start thinking like winners.

"If you want to be a winner, you have to  behave like a winner."

He was responding to Jack Watts' comments this week when he lamented the club's lack of leadership and a losing culture.

Wells, who played 224 games for the Demons between 1969-1980 before 43 games and a premiership with Carlton from 1980-1982, was a board member and assistant coach at Melbourne after his playing career ended.

He has urged Melbourne's former players from the mid-1980s through to 2000 to start helping out the club in an honorary capacity.

"I think that era needs to get more involved," he said. "There are a few people there now, but they are all on the payroll.

"I'd love to see a few more get in there and start to help out."