D-DAY could be Thursday for James Hird when the ­Essendon board convenes for its monthly meeting.

It can’t be a business-as-usual meeting because the Bombers are at rock bottom and the board would want some clarity around what the hell is going on.

But if the board points the finger at Hird and sacks him, that would be a cop-out.

It’s not about Hird, it’s about the players.

And rather than appeasing the football world and making Hird the scapegoat, the club should be devoting all its energies to supporting the players.

God knows they need it.

After Saturday’s loss, some were in tears, which is generally the reserve for beaten Grand Finalists.

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The 30-month saga has zapped all morale, all fight. Some at Essendon are seriously concerned about the mental well-being of the players.

The anecdotal evidence is worrying.

To ease the pressure on themselves, their family and friends, some players have opted to bury their woes in ­alcohol.

They’re not drunks, but they’re not acting like ­professional athletes either. After 30 months who could blame them.

Worse is the real concern that maybe up to 10 players will walk away from the game at the end of the season.

Far, far worse is the belief by some at Essendon that the daily media coverage and speculation and betrayal of trust has got to the point where club officials are concerned a player could self-harm.

That’s where the players are right now.

The club’s not drowning, as former coach Mark Thompson argued, it’s the players who are drowning. It’s clear, they don’t want to play football.

Dyson Heppell has shown he can be a top-10 player, but his past six weeks wouldn’t have him in the top 200.

This from a bloke who is more country than Slim Dusty, who has become weighed down by torment.

The easy target is Hird.

Colleague Jon Ralph on Sunday wrote Hird must be consumed by self-doubt. READ MORE HERE

Rather, Hird is consumed by anger, frustration and ­unfairness, but remains stoic in his ability to coach and his ability to guide the players and the club through the darkest days in its history.

Remember, the board believed Hird was the right man to coach, knew that after WADA appealed the players would find it difficult to play, and suspected games like Saturday’s pathetic effort against Adelaide were a strong possibility.

So, to blame Hird would be unconscionable.

The players aren’t blaming Hird.

Heppell said on Sunday: “He has the complete support of the entire playing group. Whether he’s there or not next year, for the moment we’re certainly backing him in right in.

“Personally, I certainly want him there and I certainly think he will be.”

The Hird situation is different to the one that lost Mick Malthouse his job.

Malthouse lost his job ­because he lost the players and lost the club.

Hird has the players and the club supports his belief the players did not take performance enhancing drugs.

There are issues with management inside the football department, but fundamentally Hird and the club are together.

To judge him as coach when the players don’t want to play is foolish.

This season has been the perfect storm.

Injuries to speed players — Colyer, Zac Merrett, Dalgliesh, Fantasia — have hurt.

The rucks are no good.

The old such as Fletcher, Chapman, Winderlich and Cooney have been injured or out of form.

The midfield has been desecrated.

And Carlisle was hurt and then Hurley.

The replacements have been kids who are either not ready or not good enough and there remains concerns about fitness levels.

On top of that is WADA.

Not even the late Norm Smith could save the Bombers at the moment.

The argument that Hird has to go so the club can move on is also a cop out. While most of the football department and the chairman (David Evans) and the chief executive (Ian Robson) opted to leave, Hird stayed and fought.

He believed the AFL had railroaded the investigation, he believed the ASADA/AFL combine was compromised and he believed the players would be found not guilty at the AFL anti-doping tribunal.

He was right with the result. Then WADA appealed.

Yes, the players would not be in this situation if the club didn’t embark on the 2012 supplement program, but that’s not all Hird’s fault, that’s an entire club blame.

It is a sad situation because the AFL, which was part of the prosecution of the players, has given next to no assistance to the players through this difficult past 10 weeks.

Quite rightly, the AFL was on the front foot when the booing on Adam Goodes ­became an issue. It headed a national campaign believing Goodes didn’t deserve the treatment he was receiving.

Where’s the same support for the Essendon players, AFL? Not even the same support, but some act of love or kindness? An acknowledgment that they even exist?

The AFL had worries in 2012 the players might’ve been exposed to performance enhancing drugs. They did nothing then. Approaching 2016, they are doing nothing now.

In essence, the AFL is allowing a group of their players to wither like fruit on a dead tree. Maybe instead of sending the integrity department to the players, why not extend your welfare expertise.

The players need truckloads of support and part of that support includes the coach. Believe it or not, Hird is not there for himself or to win a premiership. He’s there for the players.

While there was a period where Hird was bogged down by the belief he was shafted, that attitude is long gone.

Coaches love their players, ask any coach, and when they see their players in moments of utter distress, like they were in the rooms after the Crows match, nothing else is as ­important as their well-being.

To move on Hird now would be ridiculous because the club has begun a review of the football department.

And what a shoddy organisation it would be if it pulled the trigger on Hird and then learned that, in fact, Hird was the glue.

In contrast, if they learn that the players don’t want Hird, then they can make a ­decision in the best interests of the football club.

In the meantime, they should stay the course.