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Adelaide's new high performance manager Darren Burgess says it will take time for any changes he makes at the AFL club to come to fruition.

Adelaide's newly-appointed fitness guru Darren Burgess says it could be up to two years before any changes come to fruition at the AFL club.

Burgess has left premiers Melbourne to join the Crows, a decision made for family reasons.

Burgess' two children - Harry, 10, and Millie, nine - have lived in Adelaide while he spent the past two seasons with the Demons in Melbourne.

"The borders have been more or less shut for two years so it has been a really rough two years in that front," Burgess told reporters on Friday.

"I have been trying to explore opportunities ... to get home with the kids once it was clear that the borders weren't going to open any time soon.

"It has just been brutal.

"And I am sure there's other families in that situation with borders closed ... having the kids in a different state and not being around them daily, that has been really tough."

Burgess is a world-renowned high performance manager whose experience includes stints with the Socceroos, English Premier League giants Liverpool and Arsenal, and Port Adelaide and the Demons in the AFL.

But he said it would be "silly to go in and try and change everything from day one" at the Crows, who have missed the finals since being beaten grand finalists in 2017.

"There's some really good practitioners there both from a medical and coaching point of view," Burgess said.

"So a lot of my time early on will be learning how things are done at the Crows.

"And then perhaps trying to alter things here or there if they're absolutely necessary and embed myself in the culture that (coach Matthew Nicks) Nicksy is trying to create.

" ... It could be a season or two before any changes come to fruition, for sure."