Carlton boss' pointed message to incoming coach Michael Voss
Newly announced Carlton head coach Michael Voss has a huge task in front of him and the 46-year-old has vowed not to shy away from expectation.
The Blues announced the selection of Voss on Thursday, having sacked David Teague last month after an external review of their football department.
The 46-year-old Voss has signed a three-year deal and takes the reins after Alastair Clarkson and Ross Lyon both turned down approaches from Carlton.
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But it didn't take long for Blues president Luke Sayers to make the club's intentions clear.
Sayers reiterated it was time for the former powerhouse to return to the finals in 2022 with their roster.
“With Michael, we are getting someone who knows exactly what it takes to achieve high performance — which is consistently winning games of football, to provide the opportunity to compete in September and ultimately win premierships," Sayers said in a press release.
And Voss said he was equal to the task.
"It's largely important not to cap where we want to be," Voss said.
"There's some good talent here and that's one of the real exciting parts of being able to coach this football team.
"I won't step away from embracing expectations.
"We've got a rich history and have had some great success as a football club and we'll embrace those expectations.
"But hopefully we can also shift the narrative a little to how we can actually play for an even greater purpose, which becomes even bigger than the result itself."
Voss returns to head coach role with Blues
A triple-premiership captain of Leigh Matthews' dominant Brisbane Lions side, Voss then coached them in 109 games between 2009 and 2013 - for 43 wins and a draw - before he was sacked.
He spent 2014 as the expert coach on television show 'The Recruit' before returning to club-land as an assistant coach with Port Adelaide.
Voss led the Power's midfield for four years and stepped up as Ken Hinkley's senior assistant, playing a key role in helping them reach successive preliminary finals in the past two seasons.
Voss has plenty of critics, despite joining the Blues as a highly-rated Port Adelaide assistant coach.
But Voss has the passion having been a Blues fan as a child.
"There's an element of that within me and I am essentially a competitor," Voss said.
"Ratifying that as a player is one thing because it's very easy to make a difference by the way that you play, but you do that very differently as a coach.
"For me as a competitor you're always trying to get the best version of yourself and we're not here to just be part of a group - we're here to be the best.
"That's what as competitors we'll try to strive for."
Carlton previously sought out Voss at the end of 2007 to replace Denis Pagan but he opted not to interview for the role.
The childhood Blues fan, who idolised club greats Ken Hunter and Wayne Johnston, interviewed after Brendon Bolton was axed in 2019 only for Teague to be appointed after a successful caretaker stint.
Richmond assistant Adam Kingsley also presented to Carlton this week but narrowly missed out on the role, having previously missed out to Craig McRae for the Collingwood job.
Fellow Tigers assistant Andrew McQualter and Essendon's Daniel Giansiracusa were also in the running at Carlton before the appointment of Voss.
Despite Carlton's rollercoaster ride in finding a new head coach, it hasn't fazed Voss one bit.
“How I turn up and how I present and what I control is my moments in front of the panel,” he told reporters.
“The further I went along, the more confident I felt like I was the right person and I was the right person to lead this club moving forward. The opportunity only became more exciting as the appointment started to unfold.”
with AAP
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