Confronting public assumptions that Buckley would be a tough and brutally direct coach, Pendlebury said that in frank meetings after the Carlton loss in round seven earlier this month the players had urged Buckley and all the coaches and leaders to be tougher on them.
"We said it is not happening, whatever we are doing is not working so let's call a spade a spade and if guys need to be whacked they get whacked, if they need to be wrapped up they get wrapped up for doing the right things we want to reward," Pendlebury said.
"I think today's footy it is a delicate balance of do you put your arm around or do you go whack? No matter how nice or how hard you are, nothing hurts more than match day when blokes continually won't do the things that have been asked so we can be as nice and connected as we want. But if we are not doing it on match day that is as honest feedback as you can get.