"WE HAVE to take care of this week."

Carlton's thoughts remain firmly fixed on the assignment at hand this Sunday afternoon when taking on the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.

Speaking to media on Friday morning, here's what AFL Interim Coach Josh Fraser had to say.

On the latest on the coaching process:

“It’s nice to have an update, which is a bit different to the questions I’ve been answering. A fortnight ago, the Club came to me and asked me to be part of the coaching process - this week, I was in a position to go back to the Club and accept that offer to go through it.

“I presented to the coaching panel this week, and now I can focus on this weekend’s game.”

On how the players reacted to the news:

“I’m not sure they actually know, to be honest. My preference would be that it sits in the background to a degree, so we can continue to focus on what we’re doing.

“I’ve been so excited by what they’ve been able to do up to this point in the season, and it’s a credit to them that we’re in a position where we’ve got things to fight for with games left in the season.”

On the position the Club now finds itself in:

“I don’t look at this as what I’ve done, it’s very much what we’ve done. I’m a product of some amazing people around me, I think our coaching group has done an incredible job and our staff has been amazing.

“It can disrupt a club at times when there’s significant change, when you lose a coach and bring another coach in mid-season. That speaks to the culture that’s been here pre-existing.”

On how to keep the focus on the job at hand:

“We keep going week to week. I hear a little bit of noise around managing expectations - that is pre-dating my presence at the Club. I can’t control what’s happened in the past, but what we can control is what we do moving forward.

“I know right now that our playing group and staff are very locked in to today, making sure that we’re as prepared for the Bulldogs as we can be.”

On the absence of Marcus Bontempelli for the Bulldogs:

“It doesn’t change in the sense that we understand we have to be performing at our best. Clearly he’s a really important player to them, one of the champions of the game.

“Having said that, I’ve been involved in teams before where you’re faced similar challenges with opposition star players being out, and others around them lift. We still have to have a high awareness of what they’ll bring.

“They’re so well-coached, ‘Bevo’ has been at it a long time. I’m sure they’ll throw some things at us which we have to be prepared for.”

On looking ahead to a potential wildcard berth:

“I haven’t put my focus on that, because we have to take care of this week. For us, it’s about the style of football we want to play. My role in all of this is to not get too carried away with what it may look like in terms of finishing spots, but more what it looks like as a product on-field.

“That’s what we’ve tipped into, that’s what our players have bought into and invested in. I think we’re seeing growth week-to-week on that, but the consistency on that product on-field is what we have to maintain and drive.”

On Jacob Weitering:

“He’ll train today. He got through the VFL last week well, he’ll train today and be available for selection - that’ll be a conversation we’ll have post-training.

“It speaks to the growth of other players that have come in and performed roles. We have a responsibility to pick the best team for this week, and that’s not just taking into account Jacob but taking into account everyone that is fit and available for selection.

“I can speak to last week and the professionalism with how he handled that conversation. Complete professional, showed great leadership, went back and led and helped others around him in the VFL.”

On conversations with players in the VFL at the moment:

“Their futures aren’t determined by me, they’ll be determined by our list management group. My conversations are around performance and where I see them and how I see them getting back into the team.

“There’s a reality that some players out of the side will be playing great football, but can’t get in because players in the team are holding up their end of the bargain. We can only fit in a certain amount each week.

“It can be a real challenge for players in the VFL when they’re in reasonable form and have traditionally played senior football. My role is to give them honesty and clarity and support them through that.”