We're all impatient, says Blues captain
Carlton captain Chris Judd sympathises with Blues supporters who are impatient for better results.
He says Carlton players might need the extra pressure to reproduce their early season form and drag their way out of a month-long slump, including three losses in their last four games.
The Blues went down to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday by 68 points and Judd has forecast a hard week on the training track ahead of their clash against Sydney next Sunday.
But he said frustration with the side's inconsistency should be used as a spur.
"Everyone at the club, and the supporters, are impatient and I think, to be honest, that's a good thing," Judd said on Monday.
"It's a bad look when there's an acceptance of where you are, particularly if you're not at one of those really elite clubs.
"I think we are impatient and that's a positive.
"The group's working hard, we've got a young list who are pretty capable of playing pretty good footy.
"But I think the time's coming where we do need to take that next step."
Judd said the team was avoiding recriminations over its current malaise and was looking to work through the issues.
"We're not getting too down on ourselves, but the good sides rarely lose by 10 goals," he said.
"Sure, you're not going to come out and play your best each week but you shouldn't get beaten by 10 goals.
"But we're not going to sulk and start playing the blame game ... where players start moaning and pointing the fingers at everyone else."
He said coach Brett Ratten was "matter-of-fact" after the game but unhappy at the way the side fell away.
"One of the things he was disappointed with was not so much to get beaten but to get beaten so badly in the end and the appearance of a lack of effort once it became apparent that we weren't going to win."
Judd said there was a complex mix of ingredients the players needed to look at to improve.
"We've had some really good games this year and some really poor games and sometimes even within the one game itself our consistency just hasn't been there.
"We've got some things to work on and I dare say it will be a pretty solid week on the track this week.
"I think the temptation is to single out one thing, but the game of football is a pretty complex game, and that's often a mistake.
"It's never just one thing, it's always a host of things.
"We've just got to be more efficient with the ball, work harder and be a bit more physical over the ball."
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