When asked whether he would stay beyond the remaining two rounds, Barker simply said “what happens in the future will take care of itself”.

“Carlton’s really handed me a great opportunity. It’s been invaluable experience,” he said.

“I think I’ve grown as a coach through that period and I’ve enjoyed every minute of the last 12 weeks.

“The process was exhaustive and it was a really good one. I felt like I gave myself every opportunity (to get the job).

“What I’ll say is that Carlton is in really good hands going forward. There’s no doubt about that. I’ve worked with Brendon at Hawthorn and he’s a really good coach.

“They have (spoken to me about staying on) but the future will take care of itself in due course.”

As for whether he would consider putting his hand up for another vacant coaching role such as that at Essendon***, he was similarly noncommittal.

“What happens in the future will take care of itself,” Barker said.

“What I know is that I’m going to work really hard on growing as a coach but also work just as hard to keep growing as a person.

“Right now I’ve got two weeks to coach and I’m looking forward to getting that done.”