WATCH Matthew Primus's press conference on PTV above. Can't view the video? Watch on YouTube here
PORT Adelaide coach Matthew Primus says he remains confident in the direction the club is taking, despite a tumultuous week in which his job was called into question.
Sunday's 37-point loss to Richmond sparked cries from the media that the Power hadn't developed after a promising start to 2012 and Primus' tenure would end with the season.
But Primus denied the Power had remained stagnant after a horror 2011 and said a dismal second quarter against the Tigers, in which they conceded 10 scoring shots to one, wasn't enough to test his faith in his game-plan.
"The belief in where this group's going and what they're going to be able to achieve together hasn't diminished because of a real bad quarter against Richmond," Primus said.
"We've had one poor quarter out of 40, in the last 10 weeks, so we can jump at shadows after round six, or we can stick to what we're doing and believing in that.
"Our program is working, our players are developing individually, it hasn't given us the result we've wanted it to but we're a lot better than we were last year statistically wise."
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The Power face a Fremantle outfit buoyed by the return of ruckman Aaron Sandilands on Sunday, with the 211cm giant declared a certain starter after missing two matches through injury.
So powerful is Sandilands, that Primus admitted he couldn't be stopped, just restricted.
"I don't think he can be stopped, you've just got to try and limit the damage he can do with his ruck work and stuff around the ground," Primus said.
"It's more about negating him than dominating him."
He said the road trip to Patersons Stadium was always a difficult task, made harder by the form of both Fremantle and West Coast.
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With the football world looking for any sign of a response from Port Adelaide's players after last weekend's loss, Primus said his message to the group hadn't changed from what it was at the start of the season.
"I've demanded what's expected each week, we haven't been able to deliver that long enough to get us enough wins," he said.
"But we're just focusing on what we can do and how we're going to go about it.
"If we play the footy we want to, we'll get a win."
Harry Thring covers Port Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry
