Nathan Buckley insists he doesn’t know whether he will coach Collingwood in 2018 and is holding onto hope his contract will be renewed.

On Saturday, the Magpies finished their underwhelming season on a high – toppling Melbourne by 16 points to derail their finals aspirations.

But Collingwood won’t be playing in September for the fourth-straight year, leaving Buckley’s tenure delicately poised.

The club legend said he didn’t have a feeling on their decision.

“I have a hope,” he said.

“I’m really confident the right decisions will be made because I think the right information has been gathered.

“It’s far more in-depth than the external commentary would suggest. We’ll all be more aware of what the key decisions are in the near future.”

Buckley held all Collingwood’s players and football staff in an unusual closed door meeting after singing the song at the MCG.

He said it was to “recognise the effort and the result” against the Demons but also foreshadow imminent changes as a result of the club’s review.

“Good people will come and go. The challenge of an organisation is to continue to build and develop the individuals in it,” he said.

“There’s going to be change. It’s inevitable.

“The majority of the people that are in that room will still be there and will have a role to play.”

Buckley appeared to signal assistant coach Scott Burns’ exit, referencing his name as he discussed the shake-up.

But given Buckley’s positivity and the way in which the Magpies have finished the season, it seems unlikely the club will part with their favourite son.

Collingwood won four of their last seven games and drew with first-placed Adelaide.

“We played some good footy (this year),” Buckley said.

“In the end the accumulation of the season is ‘were you able to best your opponent on the day often enough?’ and we didn’t do that often enough to qualify for finals so our season ends.

“We played more consistently than we did last season.

“We’ve seen further growth and development in players of the right profile to take the club forward.

“It’s bittersweet on a night like tonight. The music has stopped for this year.”