Carlton coach Brett Ratten has welcomed the challenge provided by the club's recent form slump and insisted he still feels supported by president Stephen Kernahan.
Kernahan spoke on Melbourne radio on Tuesday night and said 'at this stage' Ratten will see out the season, although he did admit things could change if the recent run of poor results continues.
Having signed a new two-year contract at the end of last year after guiding the Blues to their first finals win in a decade, Ratten's men won five of their first six games to assume premiership favouritism.
But six losses from seven games since then, the latest a 50-point defeat to Hawthorn last Friday, have led many to write off Carlton's chances of even making the finals, particularly with ladder leaders Collingwood to come this week.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, though, Ratten said he had not heard Kernahan's comments nor has he been made to feel that he no longer has his president's backing.
"Stephen as a president is entitled to the view and that's where they sit," Ratten said.
"I'll just do what I have to do.
"I can control what I can and that's the team this weekend and the players that we have available to select from so we'll go through that process.
"We speak fairly consistently ... most major training sessions he comes down, so he's around the club, so we catch up here and there.
"When I speak to him yeah it (Kernahan's support) hasn't changed from the start of the year so unless something's said and I've missed (it).
"We've had conversations and that hasn't been brought up.
"I feel the backing of Stephen and we'll just push on and play the game but I haven't heard anything different."
And according to Ratten, attempting to turn things around during this period of adversity is a challenge he relishes.
"Anyone that has been involved in football or in sport, you have moments where are challenged and this is part of the game," he added.
"I think the best form of leadership is not when you're going well, it's when you're not going so well.
"People can point the bone at me and that's fine, I think that's fair enough, I am the person that holds the responsibility of our football club and our team.
"And this puts me in a spot where I'm challenged and I suppose you have those moments where you go are you up for the fight?
"Well yes I am so I'm really looking forward to it, I think this is the time when coaches, teams, players, this is when you really test yourself.
"When it's not going the way that you want to, you have to do something about it and this is what brings out the best in people and people around you hopefully."