Stevo's Sting: Paul Roos has made a meal of it

Paul Roos dug a hole for himself on Monday night.

By the end of play on Tuesday, it had become a crater.

Someone, please, rip the shovel out of his hands.

Perhaps the Melbourne coach is the victim of a regular TV spot, peppered by questions while maintaining an obligation to be honest and interesting, but his performance on Monday night was a clanger.

In an eyebrow-raiser, Roos declared: "There's no doubt there's this veil of negativity that exists, and I'm talking about the whole footy club, and it's fuelled by everyone".

Yep, the sentence ended in "everyone". The entire club.

There was only one way you could read the comments: There was a problem within the inner sanctum, as well as outside the walls of AAMI Park.

It was alarming. Two seasons into the job, Roosy clearly thought players and staff were still down in the dumps and hounded by the past.

But then came the clarification.

Roos wasn't talking about the club. It was about the fans.

"He's talking about the supporters. He's not talking about within the club," Demons CEO Peter Jackson said.

"I know it didn't come over sounding like that, but that's what he was talking about."

You have to take Roos on his word, and we can't accuse Jackson of telling porkie pies. Another Melbourne insider was adamant today Roos always had the fans in the gun.

But you can see why the original message is being questioned. If Roos was so strong on the fans line, why didn't he clarify that properly on the night?

His regular spot is now doing Melbourne no favours, by the way. Surely it's time to pull back, as there's too many tremors.

You can understand some staffers being miffed, hence the statement yesterday that it was all about the fans.

But by pointedly taking issue with the supporters, Roos and the Demons only made sticky situation worse.

Melbourne fans are a deeply loyal bunch. Who could blame them for being a tad negative at times. They're only human.

If the fans weren't hurting, then the Dees would really have problems. Who wants to accept mediocrity?

If anything, those supporters have been too passive. They should be angry and have every right to be.

So what if a few blunt emails get fired through?

Those same supporters will turn up for the Round 23 clash with GWS, filled with hope. The fact the Demons have 36,000 members, despite an inept decade, should be celebrated.

Roosy and the club's powerbrokers should be bowing to them. Thanking them publicly in media slots.

By all means point the finger at negativity within, but it is grossly unfair to blame the fans.