CARLTON ball-magnet Ryan Houlihan has urged Blue fans to be patient as the young side attempts to overcome its 0-2 start to the season.

Overrun on Saturday night by St Kilda after jumping to an early four-goal lead, the 26-year-old said players were just as frustrated as fans whose pre-season expectations soared in the wake of Chris Judd’s arrival at the club.

“They (fans) just have to be patient,” Houlihan said.

“We’re trying to improve each player and we’ve just got to quicken up the development process of the young guys and there were some signs there against St Kilda.”

While labelling the loss to the Saints as disappointing, the 159-game veteran did see encouraging signs.

He highlighted young defender Paul Bower (19 possessions), Bryce Gibbs (26), Darren Pfeiffer (17) and Marc Murphy (23) as huge positives to emerge from the 40-point loss.

He was also buoyed by the fact last year’s No. 1 draft pick Matthew Kreuzer would debut next weekend against Essendon.

It was the second week in a row the Blues had squandered a four-goal lead early in the match, a trend Houlihan said the club had to rectify sooner rather than later.

“We made a focus to come out hard and we did that for one and a half quarters but to fall away was really disappointing,” he said.

“I don’t know if it’s just a young, inexperienced team that runs out of legs, and when the opposition gets a few goals, the confidence drops pretty quickly.

“Whatever it is, it’s something we have to improve on and I’m sure it will come as we get more experience.”

While disappointed to be sitting 0-2 he said the side could at least take solace from the fact it had been competitive against a St Kilda side expected to push hard for a premiership in 2008.

“In both games this year we’ve had chances to win it, we just haven’t taken them,” he said.

“We’re getting opportunities and when they come we’ve got to put scoreboard pressure on and really try and put teams away.”

He said the immediate task facing the senior players was to show the way during the week as the side prepares to face Essendon on Saturday at the MCG.

“It’s our job to keep the enthusiasm around the club because if we’re not doing it the young guys are not going to do it,” Houlihan said.

“We’ve just got to keep the spirit up.”