Brad Scott can see the future and for North Melbourne, that’s a good thing.

In his seventh season as head coach, he knows laying a foundation for sustained success is as important as winning the club a fifth flag.

"Is it purely about winning premierships? Well yes, we're in the business of sport and we want to win, but not at the expense of risking the club's long-term future," he told The Age’s Sam McClure.

When he took over from interim coach Darren Crocker at the end of 2009, Scott remembers a club in dire need of change on and off the field.

"We were still in the old facility, which was really a series of portables put together, and a ground which resembled a public park more than a sporting complex.

"The challenges we faced were more from a perception perspective and what the club had always prided itself on which was having great people, great players and quite admirably performing in the face of significant adversity," he said.

"The problem with that is, the football world had moved on and it became too hard to compete in this competition when you simply didn't have an infrastructure that would enable you to compete."

Together with the Board, led by James Brayshaw, and a strong administration, Scott helped set the club up for the long term and enabled it to escape what he describes as being "in survival mode".

"A lot of the things that needed to be implemented took a back seat to survival," Scott said.

"Paying anywhere near the salary cap was secondary to paying the bills."

"It's about having an understanding that we're not working in silos here, we're not 'you do your job and I'll do mine,' it was about: 'how can we make this football club something we're proud of again."

Now, Scott says it’s time for the club and its supporters to get off the roller coaster.

"The club won two premierships in the '70s, then very nearly went broke in the '80s, another two premierships in the '90s, then nearly relocated and went out of business in the 2000s," he said.

"We can't go through this cycle, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s. It wasn't just going to be about spending all our money, or try to leave a premiership legacy in 2010 to 2020, the club's view is that we need to break this cycle.

"I would love nothing more than to leave a premiership legacy for North Melbourne, but more than that, I want to make sure that this club is in fantastic hands for the next custodians to come in and take over."

"So it was about taking a step back and asking what we want to be as a football club.”
Redefining the famed Shinboner Spirit one of his main aims.

"The [great] culture has always been there, but the problem was, that culture of the shinboner spirit was hijacked, and it was turned into something it wasn't," he said.

Part of the revamp focused on making the club more appealing and with free agents such as Nick Dal Santo, Shaun Higgins and Jarrad Waite playing their best footy at Arden Street, the proof is in the pudding according to Scott.

"That to me sends a message; when you come to North Melbourne whether you're an 18-year-old draftee or an experienced free agent, our program is always going to enable you to play your best footy, and that was always the intention back in 2009," Scott said.