WHEN Michael Voss stepped into IKON Park in September last year, he admitted that there was plenty of hope. 

He’s firmly in the camp now that that hope has turned into belief. 

It’s a time of reflection now for the Blues, whose season ended in the cruellest of fashions: a one-point loss to the old enemy in the final game of the season, knocking them out of the top eight where they had been entrenched all campaign.

In the days following that, there were a wide array of emotions. Frustration began to pivot approaching optimism, despair turned somewhere towards pride.

For Voss, however, while he’s completely cognisant of the inroads made, not featuring in September action continues to burn — and most likely will be for the foreseeable future.

“I go off a lot of the messages that I received at the end of the season. There were a lot of really positive messages from people about how proud we should be of what we were able to achieve this year,” Voss told Carlton Media.

“I must admit, I was battling to place that really positive message with the absolute hurt and disappointment we had at the end of the game and the opportunity that was lost. I wasn’t sure where to place that.

“There’s no doubt we have to acknowledge how far we’ve come, we’ve been able to progress so many things. But we also walk away not getting what we really wanted.”

In Voss’ post-match press conference after the Round 23 defeat, he ascertained that the Blues currently sit in the middle portion of the ladder, and he wanted the Blues to make a jump.

With some of the raw emotion removed after that game, Voss’ sentiments very much remain the same. He alluded to what the pre-season focus would be even at this early stage.

“We need to raise the standard. We’ve shown as a footy club that we sit in that 7-10 [range],” he said.

“We’re trying to shoot to be better than that. We’ve got to ask what are the standards that were acceptable, and what are the standards that we’re going to go after moving forward.

“We said from the start that we’re going to continue to progress this thing and continue to build it. The clearer we become on it and the way we play, I’m sure there’ll be a natural course where we head that way.”

On that aforementioned hope, Voss said the moments that unfolded before Carlton supporters’ eyes in 2022 would help foster belief among not only the fanbase, but also the playing group as a whole. 

Given where things started under Voss’ tenure - with a new game plan from scratch, a new training program, a new set of values - the AFL Senior Coach said it was a body of work which would continue to provide the evidence that the team was on the right pathway.

The message from Voss was clear.

“Right throughout the year, we’ve had some significant moments throughout season 2022 where the belief gradually built. All these little moments that we’ve been able to grab hold of and be able to establish our brand and what we want to value moving forward,” he said.

“Belief has been built by evidence, and we’re fortunate that we’ve got enough now to lean on that moving forward… but it won’t be without some work.

“Finals is not the end game. Where we sit right now guarantees us nothing: the worst thing we can possibly do is just assume that the next step will be being a permanent fixture in finals.

“If there’s anything this has taught us in the last couple of weeks, it’s that no one will give it to you. You have to go out and earn the right you have to go out and earn respect.

“We know there’s another standard that we’re yet to get to.”