"We've got some good momentum right now," he told the Herald Sun's Glenn McFarlane in his first media interview.
"I think we have the equal most challenging draw in the competition this year, but we have great faith in Brad Scott and his team. The players are stung from what happened late last year. We don't want to just get into the finals and get flogged. Brad is focused on the culture that we have here and how it can be our competitive edge."
Part of Dilena's aim as head of the club is to reduce debt further.
"The debt is down to below four (million) and we are aiming to cut another million off that this year...Our membership is about 1500 ahead of this time last year.
"And we are working on the commercial side of things. We want to remain innovators as North Melbourne has always been.
"So I've asked my staff to stretch themselves with some big ideas."
Dilena was on the clubs original panel of selectors for the CEO role, but ended up being the one with the job and hit back at suggestions the club struggled to find a willing suitor.
"I certainly wouldn't say that it was the job that no-one wanted.
"That's contrary to what we experienced. We had too many candidates. We had to screen them back."
Among those close to being appointed were Ben Buckley and Brian Cook, but when those options fell through, Dilena was tapped on the shoulder by chairman James Brayshaw.
"Not long after that, James came to me and said, 'What about you, mate?' And it made me start to think about it.
"Sometimes you have to follow your passion and that's what I've done."
Dilena finished up as a senior partner at KPMG at the end of 2012 and took up his office at Aegis Park on the first day of February this year.
