CARLTON coach Brett Ratten says a return to finals football is the only yardstick his side should be measured by in 2009 and warned his players the road back to September starts now.

Speaking at the club's John Nicholls Medal ceremony on Thursday night Ratten reflected on a resoundingly positive 2008 campaign, but said the club and its fans can't be satisfied with anything less than playing in finals next year. 

"Preparation, is vital, and if players think they can come back in the wrong shape, [they] will pay a hefty price; 2009 will springboard us to where we want to go," Ratten said.

"We need to grow as a team by 25 per cent across the board to make sure that we can play finals football. The Carlton Football Club is about playing finals football. We didn't achieve that this year and we haven't done for seven years; it is a failure.

"Who is going to give us the opportunity to play in the eight? No-one is going to surrender that; we must work harder than them.

"In 2007 we hoped we'd win games, in 2008 we thought we could win games and in 2009 we're expected to win. It's a great responsibility that we shoulder as a team and a group but that is the expectation of the Carlton Football Club; to play finals football."

Club president Stephen Kernahan echoed his coach's sentiments.

"The sleeping giant that is the Carlton footy club is awake and the Blues are on the move," Kernahan said during a speech in which he counted off a number of areas in which the club had progressed this year.

"But while this is all positive, it's all good stuff and we're all happy with it, the platform is there we're ready to go, the facts are we've got to sit and watch the finals for the seventh year in a row."

Ratten highlighted several goals - including instilling self-belief, player development and becoming a more competitive unit on-field - which he felt had been achieved, but his final goal of regaining the respect around the league after years in the doldrums remains a work in progress.

"We're earning respect back, we haven't gained respect, but we're earning respect back from the competition," he said.

"Teams don't fear us like they did, but they are very well aware of what we're capable of doing. If we slipped into that eighth spot I think we were the X-factor of the finals series, but we didn't make it and we need to make finals footy.

"I think [2008] has been a real stepping stone for us as a club to stake our claim on the AFL as a powerhouse club. We've got a lot of work to do but it is a stepping stone in the right direction."