Pride comes before a fall, Nathan Buckley said of Travis Cloke, after the key forward publicly vented his frustration about being dropped to the VFL.
But there is some doubt over replacement Jesse White's ability to play this weekend, after he tweaked his ankle on the training track.
Collingwood sent Cloke down a level before the traditional Anzac Day match against Essendon, a decision the 29-year-old said made him angry.
This week the player publicly declared he was sick of VFL football, but on Friday the Pies coach was holding his ground.
Cloke was not named in the squad to play against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.
Buckley said several players, including Mason Cox, Brodie Grundy and Darcy Moore, were competing for similar positions to Cloke and he would need to earn his place in the team.
"He hasn't been in that position for the majority of his career, so it's something he's still learning to work through that," Buckley said.
"There have been times we've brought players in before they're ready, seduced by history or seduced by talent and we set them up for failure ... we're not in that position at the moment.
"When Clokey comes back in, he'll come back in super ready and he'll make us better."
Buckley said constant media speculation about Cloke's return to senior football had placed further pressure on the situation.
"Pride can come before a fall," he said.
"It doesn't change the reality that we'll pick the best 22 to win the game of footy every week and Clokey's aiming to prove he's in that 22."
White finished training slightly earlier than other players on Friday and Buckley said he had "tweaked" his ankle.
"We'll know more in 24 hours, but we think he'll be right," Buckley said.
If White could not play this weekend, Cloke would be one of several players considered to take his place.
After a miserable start to the season that prompted questions about Buckley's own future at the club, Collingwood have won two games in a row, against lowly Brisbane then highly favoured Geelong.
Ben Sinclair has been concussed twice this season and missed last week's shock win against the Cats, but the Pies included him in the squad for the match on Sunday.
Buckley said it had been a precautionary decision not to play Sinclair on the weekend and he had trained well this week.
"In the end it was as much about how Ben was in himself, because he had passed the concussion tests," he said.
"Once again he's medically clear to play, it's just a matter of how he's feeling in himself and when he's right to go, we'll balance that up."
Buckley said the Western Bulldogs were the hardest-working team in the competition.
"Not only do they handball a lot but they handball effectively," he said. "It's a challenge."
White was named in the Pies' 22 on Friday afternoon, leaving Jarrod Witts, Jonathon Marsh and Sinclair as emergencies for the unchanged side.
The Bulldogs have made five changes for the match. The Dogs have regained Matthew Boyd and Jack Redpath from suspension, Matt Suckling and Marcus Adams from injury, and recalled Josh Dunkley.
Jed Adcock, Kieran Collins and Bailey Williams have been dropped, with Koby Stevens missing with an abdominal issue, and Lin Jong suspended.
with Daniel Cherny
