Hawthorn Coach Alastair Clarkson has conceded there is no quick fix to the side's form slump following its third consecutive loss to Melbourne on Sunday.

Clarkson admitted the club found itself in somewhat foreign territory at the moment, but was firm in saying that a nose-to-the-grindstone approach was required.

"We'll keep working away. There's no easy fix to this – just hard work," the four-time premiership coach said. 

"Our club's been in a really strong position for a long period of time and it's not frequent we're in these sorts of positions, so we'll just work hard. 

"We know we've got a very loyal fanbase that will stick with our group, and the wheel will turn – we're hoping it's sooner rather than later but we're not going to give up on it." 

Match report: Dees too strong in Sydney as Hawks suffer third loss on the trot 

Clarkson was also forced to defend the club's list management strategies of recent times, with the coach pointing to the successful recruiting of the likes of Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O'Meara and Chad Wingard.

"We'll continue to inject players, we always have at this footy club.

"That's the way forward for all footy clubs, but the way forward for all footy clubs too is to complement your current list.

"You can't just go to the draft. There's not a side in the competition that can do that now. It's not a pure draft anymore, it's compromised everywhere, so every side in the competition has injected young players through the draft as well as complementing their group with players from other clubs that are either discarded or unwanted.

"We, like many clubs, have been able to exploit that opportunity of trading for players over the best part of 10-15 years."