Carlton chief executive Steven Trigg admits the Blues’ disastrous campaign could worsen to the point where embattled coach Mick Malthouse doesn’t see out the season.

President Mark LoGiudice has repeatedly reaffirmed his board’s position that Malthouse will see out the final season of his current three-year deal despite the club’s horror 1-6 start.

in another week of turmoil at the club, Malthouse put himself at odds with his president and chief executive on Thursday after he said that plans to rebuild their list had sapped his players of all confidence.

Speaking before Friday night’s clash against Geelong, Trigg admitted the pressure of continued poor performances, mounting losses and falling crowds could force the club’s board to rethink its stance on the coach.

“There’s potentially a point, but we’re also striving to be respectful of Mick to try and get to a situation where we can work our way out of this,” Trigg said on 3AW on Friday night.

Trigg said a continuation of listless performances by the Blues would be difficult for all involved at the club.

“It will put a lot of pressure on all of us and from Mick’s perspective he will be potentially asking himself that question as well – that’s just the reality,” he said.

Trigg denied there was a rift between Malthouse and the club’s management, but said that he was surprised and disappointed with the coach’s comments about the rebuilding process.

Trigg hadn’t spoken to his coach before the clash against the Cats, but said he would be seeking clarification from him over the comments, which flew in the face of the club’s long-term strategy that was developed over the pre-season and revealed by LoGiudice in an interview after round two.

“It surprised me because we had all, I felt, been on message for quite some time,” he said.

“(It was) an appropriate message about the amount of work that we’ve got to do with our footy club, generally, and the list in particular.

“I was probably surprised because Mick knows, we all know, that he’s been involved in every list management meeting over the summer … and therefore knows the work that’s in front of us and the plan that’s at hand to build Carlton back to a dominant position in terms of the list.

“He knows all that and he also knows that we chose deliberately to use that phrase … because he was involved in all of those meetings.”