Simon Black says Lions coach Michael Voss working too hard trying to revive Brisbane's season Brisbane Lions veteran Simon Black celebrates a goal in his comeback match against West Coast last Saturday. Picture: Darren England Source: The Courier-Mail BRISBANE veteran Simon Black says embattled Lions coach Michael Voss is almost working too hard to salvage the club's 2013 campaign. Black said the blame for Brisbane's dismal start to the home-and-away season lay fairly and squarely at the feet of the players -- not his three-time premiership teammate. The Lions are in 15th place with a win-loss record of 2-5, turning up the heat on the out-of-contract Voss. Black, who made his comeback from a knee injury as a sub in last Saturday's loss to West Coast, said Voss was doing everything in his power to revive Brisbane's faltering season. "Vossy has been renowned for being such a hard-working coach," Black told The Courier-Mail. By his own admission, he probably needs to give himself some time off because he is such a workaholic. The onus is absolutely on the players to perform a lot better than what we have been. It's up to us to get out there and get the job done because coaching is such a small part of the overall performance. We have to wear the brunt for what's gone on. We have to take responsibility for our intent and our attitude. We have to survive the pressure in the first quarter and make sure we don't get blown out of the water. That's purely on us, not Vossy. Brisbane has been woeful in the first quarter of interstate matches this year. The Western Bulldogs led Brisbane by 31 points at the first change in Round 1 on the way to a 68-point win. North Melbourne was in front by 32 points at quarter-time in Round 4 and recorded a 63-point triumph. Sydney led by 40 points at quarter-time in Round 6 and were 60-point winners. Black said Brisbane needed to buck that disturbing trend when the Lions take on Essendon at Etihad Stadium this Saturday afternoon. The 34-year-old said he is over the virus which threatened his comeback match and wants to be on the ground for the first bounce to help repel the Bomber barrage. "We didn't start well at all (in the games in Melbourne and Sydney) and that makes it very hard to come back," Black said. It's a fast track, Etihad Stadium, and Essendon like to play a fast brand of footy, therefore we are going to have to pressure them really well. I think we just need to cope a bit better with the highest intensity of the match (in the first quarter). That's going to be a real focus for us on Saturday. Black reinterated yesterday he was considering entering the coaching ranks like many of his former Brisbane teammates when his stellar playing career winds up at the end of this season. "Whether it's a full-time career, I'm not 100 per cent sure at the moment," he said. But I love the game and love trying to improve the team's performance so certainly it's definitely something I'm interested in down the track. Gold Coast, Sydney and the two West Australian clubs could be possible destinations for Black.