Carlton coach Mick Malthouse is a man with a target on his back as fans left the Sunday clash against Essendon shell-shocked.
It wasn’t just a loss, but an embarrassing and abysmal 81-point thrashing at the hands of the Bombers.
Today, as fans start to file into the MCG, behind the scenes, the coach will be giving a desperate pep talk to the players ready for a fight and ready to get back onto winning ways.
Fitness isn’t the issue for Carlton, as the coach said this week, it’s more about mental preparedness.
“You have the talented players with the skill level and the game plan, but then it gets down to straight mental preparation and mental strength,” Malthouse said on FIVEaa radio.
“There’s no sin in failure, but the test of a man is to be able to get off the canvas.
“You may get knocked down again, but it’s a test to get up again, and that’s all mental.”
The return of Carlton superstar Chris Judd will help the team get more resolve to power through, who was seen this week back training with the squad.
He isn’t set to return until the Easter Sunday clash with the Western Bulldogs.
Today the club face Melbourne, a club that once again is following tradition and sits winless at the bottom of the ladder.
They failed to get the upper hand in last week’s match against GWS giants, succumbing to a 32-point deficit as the sirens sounded.
Carlton v Melbourne
Kickoff: 1:45pm
MCG