Any replacement for James Hird next season would have to be a "special person" but the ongoing supplements scandal is unlikely to discourage the best available candidates from applying should Essendon make a fresh start.

The fall-out of a woeful season continued on Monday when the players broke from their typical routine and met with the under-siege Hird and football department chief Rob Kerr at a South Yarra restaurant. It's understood the meeting was held in an attempt to clear the air after another dispiriting loss. They had held an "honesty" session after a 110-point loss to St Kilda in July.

Coaching sources said on Monday there had not been industry talk that the Bombers would be a place to avoid should Hird be replaced, for the successful candidate could be given an extended contract to guard against a disrupted 2016 – should anti-doping action drag on and players are ultimately suspended after the hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in November.

One coaching source said he expected the Bombers would provide a "blank canvas" for any replacement, while the hefty wage of a senior coach would also ensure the role was enticing.

Another source, however, said it would take a "special person" willing to help rebuild a club that had failed to capitalise on what had been considered a "dream team" coaching unit of club greats but one which had now failed to the point it was at the centre of a wide-ranging review.

There were players in an emotional state in the dressing room after Saturday's brutal 112-point loss to Adelaide, while one high-profile player is alleged to have told the Crows on Saturday that he would not be at the club next season.

Crows captain Taylor Walker said on Monday he had sensed friction in the Essendon side.

"I don't want to go into it too much, but they seemed to be disagreeing a lot on the field, and probably not playing for each other as you'd probably like," he said.

Former coach Mark Thompson has said he knows of players willing to walk away from the game at the end of the season.

Hird is contracted for next year but the review would almost certainly guard against the threat of an unlawful dismissal case – should the Bombers decide on change.

Aside from assessing his coaching and handling of the anti-doping issue, along with the impact this had on players, there are financial considerations for the club to discuss.

The Bombers have 60,803 members this season but home attendances have dropped from an average of 49,152 in 2013 to 45,067 last season to 42,968 this year.

The troubles on and off the field could have corporate repercussions, although the president of the powerful Essendonians, Dr Peter Hughes, said his group would continue to tip in its annual donation of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"When on-field performance falls away, supporters often exercise other options other than going to the football," Hughes said on Monday.

"Some coterie members are, no doubt, battle fatigued by what's gone on but, by in large, have stuck together to support the club. Within the Essendonians, there has not been any talk or movement to reduce or diminish our financial support to the football club should James remain.

"As you can imagine amongst a group of passionate supporters, there are numerous views and theories on what should happen but, collectively, we will abide by what the club determines is the right way to go after the football department review is completed and the board meeting this week."

One club source said at the weekend some supporter groups were beginning to lose faith in Hird.

The monthly board meeting is slated for Thursday. Chairman Paul Little and chief executive Xavier Campbell did not wish to comment on Monday. A club spokesman said: "The footy review is ongoing. The monthly scheduled board meeting is on Thursday."

Before training on Monday, injured captain Jobe Watson said "unfortunately when you lose the pressure goes on to everyone".

"He (Hird) has had to deal with more than anyone over a long period of time, both him and his family – I think he's had to deal with a lot of things that have been unfair," Watson said.

As the pressure intensifies on Hird, club great Tim Watson says the club is best to conclude the review before making a call on Hird.

Watson, who has been consulted about the review, said Hird ultimately may know best whether he is still the right man for the role.

The Bombers have won only five matches this season, and two of their past 14, in which they have had an average losing margin of 51 points.

Watson said the review, which will include a dissection of the football and recruiting departments, would ponder many questions.

"He (Hird) has had opportunities to stand down and he hasn't but that has been about how the whole supplements program was viewed. This is about the actual performance of the team and he might be in a better position than anyone to decide whether or not it's about WADA, it's about the pressure the players are on or it's about his inability to be able to get the best out of the players," Watson said on SEN.

"I would like to see the club complete its review before that decision is made. It's about everything.

"If you have a review, you are talking about everything. Of course, central to the review and the way the team is performing is the role of the coach. Do the players believe in the coach's message? Do they understand the coach's message? Is he getting it through to the players? Do the players believe?

"You might find from interviewing players that he (Hird) has been so distracted by all the other parts to this that he hasn't been there and he hasn't been able to perform the main functions of his role. All that will be revealed after you interview players over a long period of time."

In July, Hird showed he still carried the scars of the anti-doping battle, declaring there were "ordinary individuals" at AFL headquarters, while maintaining some did not want the truth to emerge in the investigation into the club's controversial supplements and injecting program.

The Bombers also have several list-management decisions to make. More than a dozen players are off contract, including tall utility Jake Carlisle, who has struggled with all the drama, ruckman Tom Bellchambers, Brent Stanton and Mark Baguley, the latter haggling over cash.

Bombs away:

2015: 5 wins, 14 losses (15th spot).

Began 3-3 but have gone 2-12 since, with an average losing margin of 51 points. Wins only against Melbourne and Brisbane.

Average home attendances have dipped to 42,968 this year.

An internal review, led by club CEO Xavier Campbell, has several key questions to address:

• Hird is contracted for 2016 but is he still the right man for the role and is it time for a fresh start?
• Is Hird focusing enough on the players or is the fall-out from the anti-doping investigation still weighing on him?
• If the Bombers were to move on Hird once the season was done, could they afford a pay-out of about $700,000. They paid him more than $700,000 last season as part of his year-long AFL-imposed suspension.
• What exactly is Hird's on-field game plan?
• Are the players really backing him?
• The lines of communication in the football department appear blurred. Are football chiefs Rob Kerr and Neil Craig working well with Hird?
• Having failed to win a final in more than than 10 years, is recruiting chief Adrian Dodoro the right man for that role?
• If Hird is sacked, or stands aside, who would be willing to take the role on?
• Will the powerful coterie groups continue to back Hird? What about club sponsors?
• Will chairman Paul Little move on at the end of the year?

What they say:

"I think I can do it but that doesn't mean that everyone else does."

- James Hird

"He's had to deal with more than anyone over a long period of time, both him and his family – I think he's had to deal with a lot of things that have been unfair."

- injured captain Jobe Watson on Hird

"He has the complete support of the playing group"

- acting captain Dyson Heppell on Hird

"I think he has looked bleak now for four or five weeks in the box. I think they (supporters) have seen a lot of that"

- Matthew Lloyd on Hird

"We are not performing, we are not having the year we would have liked"

- general manager, football operations Rob Kerr

"The Essendonians support the club's position in undertaking a thorough review of the football department"

- Influential Essendonians coterie president Dr Peter Hughes 

"Something has to change, I would have thought"

- AFL great Leigh Matthews