Even with the monkey off his back, the elephant was still in the room for Carlton coach Brett Ratten.

As he has done for weeks, Ratten deflected questions about his own future after Sunday's thumping 62-point AFL elimination final win over Essendon at the MCG.

Ratten is out of contract at the end of this season and the Blues hierarchy made it clear at the start of the year that they wanted him to guide Carlton to a finals win.

They had narrowly lost their past two elimination finals.

Ratten's stocks improved the longer the season progressed as Carlton improved to a fifth placing.

But there was still a slight feeling that if they lost a third-straight elimination final, he might be gone.

Surely Sunday's win confirmed another contract.

When asked what personal satisfaction he felt from the win, Ratten repeated his pre-game line that it was about the team, not him.

"There's more personal satisfaction from the point of (view) it's the club I've been at since I was 14 and knowing we've had not much success in the last 10 years," he said.

"Now, to win a final, we start our climb."

Ratten was then pressed on what the win would mean for him, in particular his future at the club.

"I know what you meant - I get enjoyment for the players and being the head coach, that's your role," he dead-batted.

"But it's more about the players, I think."

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