Adelaide forward Chris Knights and wingman David Mackay have been ruled out of returning from injuries for Sunday's AFL match against Richmond.

Knights (foot) and Mackay (groin) will remain sidelined for the match of the two winless clubs.

The losers will assume bottom spot of the AFL ladder, a position the Crows aren't even discussing.

"That is the first time anyone has brought it up, was you mentioning it just then," utility Scott Stevens said on Wednesday.

The Crows have tweaked their training schedule, with no sessions on match eve for the first time in Neil Craig's six-year tenure.

"We had to look at everything we are doing," Stevens said.

"And if we did change something, we were changing it for the right reasons, we weren't just changing it for change's sake.

"The game has got quicker and we think we need to train against that sort of speed of defence, and with that sort of speed of attack.

"So we shortened the sessions so we can train at that speed and still get the recovery we need to play well on the weekend.

"As a leadership group and as a playing group, we are always looking for ways we can get better and we are disappointed, upset, frustrated as anyone with the start to the season."

Stevens said the change of routine was decided after discussions between players and coaches.

"In the end the coaches have the final decision on most things but there is good healthy discussion," he said.

"All the decisions we make are performance decisions, how are we going to win ... we'll continue to review it and review everything we do so we can improve."

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