Carlton coach Michael Voss said he has felt no jealousy watching Carlton rocket into Wildcard Round contention since interim Josh Fraser took over the coaching reigns.
Speaking on 3AW, Voss indicated he had watched three of Carlton's five games since his departure and has taken some comfort from his decision to step down having a positive effect on the football club.
“Some of it is difficult to watch because you're not there,” Voss said on 3AW on Wednesday.
“The reality of it is you have invested five years of your time, your effort, your sweat, blood and tears into that particular group but on another level it's hugely rewarding.
“Making the decision when we did, the interest was about me and only about me. You're sitting back going ‘that's disappointing' but it was about the club, creating some freedom, maybe relieving the pressure valve a little bit,” Voss said.
“Giving time on season so they have enough runway to get something out of the year and they have done that very well and for the club to make decisions they need to for the future…Did I think they would win five in a row? No, probably not.
“But I was certainly pleased that the immediate response afterwards was the win against the (Western) Bulldogs.
“It was hard not to watch the game because you've got an emotional, vested interest.
“If it wasn't even about the club and it was just about the players, they're people I've spent a lot of time with, shared stories with and hopefully given a lot of belief to and there has been a lot of work to get the club to where it is at now.”
He added that his view was that he did not think people would get answers for what caused the turnaround because it was likely intangible.
He also said he has reached out to the players and staff since he left to express his gratitude.
“If it was about solely me, you'd walk away and be a bit disappointed but it wasn't. The intention of it was to create the space needed for the club and I felt strongly on that at the time,” Voss said.
“I communicated it to everyone at the time as well. Space if what was needed at that point in time. What I underestimated was the focus on the coach.
“I didn't give it enough credibility and what the players were feeling through that period of time.”
Keen not to add external pressure, he did not weigh in on whether he believed Carlton could progress to finals, and expressed his belief that Fraser should be put through the process for the full-time role.
“The only reason you don't entertain it is maybe there is a fear of recurrence of it not working in the past therefore we don't go for it again,” Voss said.
“There's the interim coach philosophy and then the circumstances that are presenting themselves now and I would have thought looking from afar, I would be surprised if he wasn't put through the process at the very least.”
Voss has taken up a commentary role at Fox Footy for the rest of the season.
