Collingwood president Eddie McGuire will not resile from the expectation on first-year coach Nathan Buckley, openly committing the club to a flag in 2012.

Buckley faces intense scrutiny in his debut season because of the radical takeover agreement which sees him take the reins from 2010 premiership coach Mick Malthouse.

Like Buckley earlier this week, McGuire flatly dismissed claims that a growing pre-season injury list would hamper the Magpies.

He described the injuries toll as simply "a couple of niggles" and believed the club was primed for a tilt at a second flag in three seasons after losing last year's grand final to Geelong.

"There's no doubt," McGuire said. "It's not pressure on Nathan, it's what we're here to do.

"It's pressure on the club and it's pressure on everybody.

"We were very close to winning last year and outside of the last half hour, it was the most successful year in the club's history. That's where we want to be going.

"We've played in a number of preliminary finals and two grand finals in a row and won a NAB Cup.

"It would have been nice to have two premierships, but we've got one and now we have to reload and go again. The trajectory up stopped last year so we have to say, 'What do we need to do?'

"We're confident we've got a strong club, that we've got the right people in the right positions and that we can build on the legacy that Mick Malthouse has left.

"Nathan has done what we've expected him to do and that's why we hired him.

"We're very keen to have a good year and we think that Nathan is the bloke to take us forward."

McGuire again expressed his disappointment that Malthouse decided to leave the club to fulfil a media role this season instead of taking up an agreed position as coaching director. Former Western Bulldogs and Sydney coach Rodney Eade has since been lured to fill that void.

But McGuire said he would be delighted this year by the expected decision by the Collingwood board to ratify Malthouse, who will write a weekly column for The West Australian, as a club life member.

McGuire, who is heading up Foxtel's football coverage, also said he expected strong opposition from WA's two teams, West Coast and Fremantle, in 2012.

"The competition will probably still be broken into the contenders and those who are building - and then you've got those who are really building," he said.

"So there's probably a three-speed economy in the AFL this year, but I think West Coast and Fremantle will be right up there.