The side is in 15th position on the ladder but is in a good position to end the season on a positive note, chasing Geelong's 221.

Russ said he always expects his side to play to win.

"We are currently at 2-36 and have 180 runs or so to chase down which isn't easy but I hope we can do it.

"If the conditions are similar to last week then I'm sure we'll have a good day.

"Although our hopes of making finals were dashed weeks ago, I still expect our players to go out and play for the Footscray Edgewater shirt.

"I believe every game is important regardless of the situation and we should always go out to win games."

Russ is adamant the season has thrown up some positives for his club. He hails the progress of some of the senior side's younger players who he said would "make up the core of the club" over the coming years.

"We have some great young guys who are coming through such as Travis Dean, Dylan Kight, Lucas Dredge and Jack Sheppard and it's good to give them an opportunity to develop and take the club forward.

"It is great to have experienced players in the side but we want to have a good mix and it is absolutely encouraging to have these young guys coming through."

As for next season, Russ is preparing to undertake a comprehensive review of the entire club and said it needed to re-focus before moving forward.

"I consider this season to be a middle-of-the-road season and performance wise it was very disappointing.

"I don't think we have met our expectations.

"We lost a lot of players for a number of reasons during the season and we need to weigh up and review things across the board before we start looking ahead.

"The bottom line is the on-field performance and this is a very strong and tough competition we play in, so we need to improve in certain areas."

Footscray's match with Geelong will recommence this Saturday at Mervyn Hughes Oval from 11am.