Brisbane Lions CEO Greg Swann has made no secret of his intention to help the Club regain the type of ‘swagger’ it once boasted back in its halcyon days of the early 2000s.

Swann has stated this publicly on more than one occasion since his appointment at the end of July, and early indications would suggest that he’s living up to his word.

In the three weeks since the Club’s on-field campaign officially ended, the Lions have remained prominent in the headlines – but unlike last year, the news has been generally promising.

Swann has already declared the Lions have an “incredible” amount of money available in its salary cap, and that the Club was willing to use it to help attract some ready-made ‘A-Grade’ talent.

Not surprisingly, the Lions have since been linked to a number of high-profile players from opposition teams.

It’s part of a process that Swann hopes will not only generate some genuine excitement among the fans, but also help the Lions become “relevant, respected, and successful”.

“I said when I joined the Club that I wanted the Lions to get back their swagger,” Swann told the audience at the recent Club Champion Dinner.

“This wasn’t meant to be a disrespectful or boastful comment, but rather a total belief in the way we’ll go about things as a footy club – both on and off the field.

“We want to be relevant, respected, and successful, and we make no apology if we ruffle a few feathers along the way in our pursuit of the ultimate glory.

Swann understands the task ahead will be a challenging one, but underlined the key principles that he believes will help return the Club to greatness once again.

“We’d like to grow our way out of our financial difficulties, because we cannot compete if we continue to cut costs,” he said.

“That’s one of things that myself and the Board are really focussed on; to grow this business and allow us to invest more resources into the football department.

“Because make no mistake, winning football games is what drives us, and that’s why we’re all here. That’s the fundamental goal for this football club.

“Leppa talks about ‘family’ being one word that he wants the Club to be known for, and we’re all in it together. This season our family has learned a lot about itself and has grown closer as a result.

“Now we are primed and ready to go.

“People talk about us being in a rebuilding phase, but I don’t accept that. We’re not re-building, we’re simply building a great football club once again.”