Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Carlton fans are chanting Josh Fraser’s name and a similar endorsement from the club’s hierarchy for the Blues’ interim coach to take the reins full-time could follow as soon as this week.
Fraser has mounted an irrepressible case to take on the vacant head coach role, having delivered 10 wins and just two losses, since stepping up when the Blues were 1-8 and Michael Voss was sacked in mid-May.
Fraser, who earned “we want Fraser” chants from Carlton fans after Sunday night’s 44-point win, is yet to officially throw his hat in the ring – but that conversation is imminent.
“At some stage this week there’ll be an opportunity to have some conversations with the club,” Fraser said.
“… It’ll be sometime this week.”
Half-back Adam Cerra joked whether the interim boss should take the reins was the hardest question at the club at the moment.
“Obviously the club’s got their processes. We’ve got full faith in that process and their decision and we’ll support whatever they pick. ‘Frase’ has been great,” Cerra told AAP.
“The boys obviously love playing with him. We’ll leave that to the club.”
Cerra put Carlton’s turnaround down to a combination of Fraser’s influence and how the playing group lifted him – with experienced players leading from the front and young players expressing themselves.
“Frase has probably allowed a bit of freedom for us to do that, a bit of simplicity in the way we’re trying to play,” Cerra said.
“It hasn’t set too many boundaries on us. It’s more trying to explore what our best football looks like and building that week to week.
“These last couple of weeks we’ve been getting more confidence in our process and our trust and executing.”
Fraser was asked whether part of his thinking in holding off on nominating was around managing if he missed out on the job while preparing the team for a potential wildcard match.
“It’s a fair question, but no, I haven’t thought too deeply about that,” the 43-year-old said.
“I’ve just tried to stay as narrow as I can and it’s been challenging with a lot of the questioning and different things, but I still feel such a responsibility to this role as interim coach.
“That’s what I needed to and have focused all of my energy on – because I would be doing a disservice, not only to our players, but our staff and everyone, if I started to stray away from that.
“Clearly I’ve had to think through some things, but that hasn’t occupied a lot of my thinking and all the hypotheticals haven’t either. Most of my energy has been focused on this playing group and footy club.”
The Blues sit eight points clear in 10th with games against the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle to come.
“(It’s) not about daring to dream, I think the thing that’s taking us forward is we are just attaching ourselves to the work that we need to do,” Fraser said.
