From cantankerous cashed-up supporters to chief executive Greg Swann and everyone in between, Marc Murphy wants a unified approach to end Carlton’s woes.
The Blues are winless after the opening four rounds of the AFL season, having suffered a 81-point walloping at the hands of Essendon and a 23-point defeat to Melbourne in the past fortnight.
Murphy’s leadership, the nous of Swann and coach Mick Malthouse’s tenure are among the issues to be fleshed out by pundits and powerbrokers since the side’s loss to the lowly Demons on Saturday.
Multi-millionaire Bruce Mathieson was among the most vocal, calling for the head of Swann.
“You’d prefer him to be a little bit more positive towards the club at the moment, but he’s got every right to say what he feels,” Murphy said on Monday.
“At times like this, there’s no point being individuals. We’ll get nowhere.
“We all need to stick together – that’s everyone at the club. Everyone in terms of all the staff, the players, coaches and everyone involved.
“That’s what we’re going to do, stick together and make sure we get out of this hole.”
The Blues’ next chance to do so comes on Sunday against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.
Murphy denied his leadership or Malthouse’s message were responsible for the slump, instead pointing to a lack of confidence.
“You’ve just got to get together and help each other through it,” Murphy said of his side’s sapped self-belief.
“It’s amazing what can happen at the start of a game if you’re finishing off early and kicking your goals, it spreads.
“When you’re missing, it has the same effect.”
Murphy said he was giving scant regard to criticism of his leadership.
“I’ve got the respect of all the guys and the club as a whole, so that’s all that matters to me.”
Chris Judd is a chance of returning from pre-season achilles surgery against the Bulldogs, but teammate Kade Simpson warned the superstar is not going to be a saviour.
“It’s not that he’s going to come back and we’re just going to all click,” vice-captain Simpson said.
Judd is yet to get on the park this year, but Murphy said he’d already provided much help.
“I speak to Juddy every day at training, we’ve got a great coach in Mick and I’m constantly talking to them and trying to find ways of improving,” Murphy said.