Matthews was asked on Monday if it was harder to concentrate on the present with only two wins for the Lions this season and the aim of a top-eight berth potentially slipping away.
"While we try not to have expectations, we have ambition, hopes and aspirations," Matthews replied to a larger than usual media pack.
"When the win/loss ratio is so far against you and you are in the bottom four, it always a challenge to think of what you can control over the next few days.
"So, yes, it is probably a greater challenge than it sometimes is."
The Lions coach again remained non-committal on suggestions the triple premiers had lost the hunger for a contest saying 'anything's possible' and it was 'hard to measure those observations' before re-iterating it was the lack of run in today's fast-paced game that was costing the side.
"Because the tempo of the game is so quick it doesn't matter how good your ball skills are, if you can't keep up with the tempo you are going to struggle to play the modern game - that is a fact of life," Matthews said.
"We are reactive at the moment, second to the ball and we don't look like we have much life and that is about playing the ball on quickly and not a leg speed issue."
After some analysis of the shock 23-point loss to the more mobile Western Bulldogs outfit at the Gabba on Saturday night, Matthews felt his players were kicking over the mark too often instead of playing on quickly and taking the first option.
"If you are a bit down on confidence then all of a sudden you don't take risks and that makes you look slow," he observed.
Many in the football world would find it hard to believe that a side which has been involved in the last four grand finals - winning three of them - would be down on confidence.
"The premiership thing is the greatest load of hogwash because that is past history," declared Matthews, saying that a lot of average players play in premierships.
"The fact that they have won premierships in the past has nothing to do with how they would feel about themselves as footballers right now."
Highlighting the fact that finals teams from recent years sit in the bottom four on the ladder only illustrates the 'system' is working and other teams have improved, according to Matthews.
"We are struggling to play at the level we have played at, but I think most of the opposition are better than what they have been in the previous few years," he said.
"It makes it a very, very tough game every week with no easy games at the moment."
However, as a stark reminder to what the Lions can produce - particularly with their strongest list on the field - Matthews issued this warning: "I am still confident that with our highest level of capabilities we can beat any side in the competition."
