Batties warned he will make some harsh calls at the end of the season, which will see players told they are no longer in his calculations moving forward.

“I’ll be telling some players at the end of the year in their reviews that I can’t guarantee (them) a game next year ... (that their) chances of playing senior footy are very, very limited,” Batties said.

“I think the club just needs to continually change the list over until they get the desired result, because clearly there’s been players there for many, many years that are just not getting the results for us.”

Batties, who has re-signed for two more seasons with the Central Highlands Football League club, said he would be looking to turn over approximately 20 per cent of the current squad ahead of 2013.

“We want to get the joint up and rolling and there’s a reason why it’s not. We need to isolate those areas and move past them,” he said.

Batties said recruiting would again be a strong focus in the off-season, with the aim to attract two or three “inside” midfielders to the club.

Despite having won just one more game than it did up to round 11 last season, few would disagree that Ballan has made significant improvement during Batties’ time at the helm.

The Blues have booted 862 points this year, compared to 744 to the same point of 2011, and so far conceded 1008 points, which is significantly better than their 1381 points against last season.

And Ballan has been beaten heavily just once this season – an 81-point loss to Daylesford – with five of its defeats by under 20 points.