Buckley said the arrival of a trio of experienced and talented players offset the loss of premiership duo Dayne Beams and Heritier Lumumba and meant pessimism about Collingwood was misplaced.

"We are very aware of the outside perception of where we are at. But the reality is we are a club that is building towards our next sustained successful period and I have no doubt that can happen a lot sooner than the external perception might suggest," Buckley said. "We saw great growth in our group in the last 12 months and if we get the same growth again in the next 12 we will surprise a few."

Collingwood on Wednesday unveiled its three recruits: two-time Geelong premiership player Travis Varcoe, midfielder Levi Greenwood, who had a breakout year at North Melbourne to finish third in its best and fairest, and young big-bodied midfielder Jack Crisp from the Brisbane Lions. Collingwood also received pick No. 5 in the national draft.

Buckley was sanguine about Collingwood's efforts in the off-season – "I am very happy with how we have come out of it" – after the trading period threatened to be a bad one for the Magpies when the contracted Beams declared he wanted out and would only be traded to Brisbane. The club had also moved Lumumba out.

"You want to bring some ready-made players in around the youth, and we have got an existing core of that and we feel these three lads are going to provide that for us," he said. "It's pretty clear the decisions we have made over the last couple of years have been around regenerating and giving ourselves the best chance to contend sooner than later.

"I am not great at managing expectations. I have high expectations for this club and this playing group and I think the first half of last year showed what we are capable of. I have no reason to think why we cannot perform in that manner for longer next year than we did last year."

Buckley said Collingwood had played well early but for a second successive season had fallen badly away and had "limped to the line".

He acknowledged the club's injury profile was poor and it had changed not only a doctor and weights coach but had tweaked its training regime.

"I would suggest we have not had a great run in the last three years, so it is clearly an area of focus for us. We have shifted how we are going to prepare in the gym – less of a power focus and more of a functional strength component," he said. "And to build the aerobic phase in this transitional game. We want strength without size in many ways, or without being too big."

He reasoned that if players could lose bulk without sacrificing strength it had to help their running ability in a game increasingly requiring solid transition running.

Buckley said Varcoe was versatile but his ability to run and spread on the outside would suit him to a wing at the Magpies. Greenwood said he had moved not only for the financial stability of a four-year contract but because he craved consistent opportunity in the midfield, which Collingwood offered.

Buckley said the inside midfielder, who has also tagged at North, would be expected to be a mainstay of the Magpies midfield next year.

Crisp was an add-on to the Beams trade from Brisbane but Buckley said the 190-centimetre inside midfielder had elite speed and could be important in the midfield depth after impressing late in the season at the Lions.

"Add to that Darcy Moore and pick five in the draft, so we have two of the top-10 elite talent from this year's draft pool and two of the top-10 picks from last year who we are yet to see in Nathan Freeman and Matt Scharenberg," Buckley said.

"[But] we are not playing tennis, this is footy, it is a team game and how a team gels together matters most, and great teams win flags, and great teams win games of footy, and we are working towards being a great team."

Buckley was unfazed by the decision by Beams to quit the club despite being under contract, acknowledging that the number of high-profile and quality players seeking to move despite contracts was a modern reality. "There's a few coaches that had contracts that were not upheld either. Contracts are contracts, it's up to the two parties whether they are upheld or not," he said.

Buckley was similarly dismissive when asked if he was troubled that there would be mounting pressure on his own contract entering his third season in charge and after making bold list changes.