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Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says the Magpies will go "back to what we know" ahead of their crunch AFL clash with winless North Melbourne.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley concedes the blowtorch on the Magpies' disastrous AFL campaign is having an impact on morale.

The heat on Buckley's coaching future went to new levels after Collingwood's defeat - their fifth straight - to Gold Coast last Saturday placed the off-field powerhouse in 17th on the ladder with a 1-6 record.

In his 10th season as coach of the club he starred for as a player, the out-of-contract Buckley claims he would not be human if the pressure did not get to him.

"What I would say is that we're not robots. We're full of imperfect humans in this place, we're not infallible and bulletproof," Buckley said.

"We feel like everyone else. When things aren't going well, what I find with our crew is that they take a lot of responsibility on themselves before they put it on someone else.

"The leadership challenge is to assist individuals out of that mindset.

"It does have an impact but you can have positive momentum just the same as you can have negative momentum."

After experimenting with Darcy Moore up forward during the last three weeks, the All-Australian defender will make the switch back for Collingwood's crunch clash with winless North Melbourne on Saturday.

Buckley believes Collingwood's defensive structure has fallen down and needs to improve significantly.

"This week we sort of realised, when there are so many things you feel that you can fix, you got back to what you know," he said.

"The connection with us as a group is important and we've tipped time into that.

"We've reschooled our defensive shape and that's largely where our focus has been and where we hope to effectively get the game on our terms.

"It hasn't been consistent enough this year; it's been a strong point of ours over a number of years, but that was then, this is now.

"We need to improve our defensive actions and give ourselves the best chance to play the game in our half."

Star defender Jeremy Howe is pushing hard to return but will be given at least another week to recover from his hamstring injury.

The Magpies will face former forward Jaidyn Stephenson for the first time after his high-profile trade to the Kangaroos during the off-season.

North Melbourne are on a 15-game losing streak extending back to round-10 last year.