FREMANTLE coach Ross Lyon insists there was "nothing mischievous" in his meeting with a member of the sub-committee that will recommend Carlton's next senior coach.
Lyon met with former Carlton player and St Kilda coach Ken Sheldon, who is part of the five-man panel appointed by the Blues to find Mick Malthouse's permanent successor.
Sheldon was also a member of the sub-committee that appointed Lyon as St Kilda coach ahead of the 2007 season. He was the Saints' football manager in Lyon's first season in charge there.
Lyon, who is contracted as Fremantle coach until the end of 2017, met with Sheldon on Tuesday but said the Blues were simply asking for advice on what type of coach they should chase to fill the role.
"They're clearly just firming up their processes and [asking] about the requirements of the job," Lyon told Channel Ten.
"So it was really nothing mischievous and certainly nothing to do with me ... I find it distasteful that you would think it would be about me. But that's OK, I understand."
When asked if the meeting was about the merits of any of Fremantle's assistant coaches, Lyon said: "No, it wasn't about people. It was just about process and the requirements of the job."
Later on Monday night, Lyon said the issue was "a mountain out of a molehill".
"(Sheldon)'s a very good friend. He made an appointment with me last week. We met at that low key spot in Fremantle, the Norfolk [Hotel], and in my Dockers gear. So he just wanted to go through the process," he told Channel Seven.
"He conducted the interview process with me at St Kilda and he's just trying to firm up how they go about it and what they're looking for, those type of situations. And every time he's in Perth we basically catch up. So, yeah, it's a mountain out of a molehill really. Irrelevant."
Lyon, 48, signed a two-year extension with the Dockers midway through his original four-year contract.
He left the Saints at the end of 2011 to join Fremantle in controversial circumstances after the club dumped Mark Harvey.
Sheldon is joined on the Carlton coaching sub-committee by retired champion Chris Judd, national soccer coach Ange Postecoglou, Blues CEO Steven Trigg and recruiting specialist David Campbell.
Highly rated Dockers assistant Simon Lloyd, who is completing the AFL's Level Four coaching course, is among the favourites for the Carlton position.