MARC Murphy is confident Carlton's positive finish to the 2014 season has instilled belief in the Blues that they can return to the finals next season.
The Blues had a tough finish to this year's home and away season, but played their best football of the year in the final six rounds to defeat North Melbourne and Gold Coast, and draw with Essendon.
They also lost by a goal or less to Fremantle (at Patersons Stadium) and Geelong, with their only poor performance in that time a 103-point loss to Port Adelaide in round 22 at Adelaide Oval.
Murphy told reporters on Monday that the Blues had taken a "team-first attitude" into that stretch of games and would seek to bring the same approach to 2015.
"I think the belief that we instilled, probably other than that Port Adelaide game in the second last round, the last eight weeks were positive for the club," Murphy said.
"We really challenged some top sides and weren't able to get over the line.
"But I think the team-first attitude going into those last eight weeks was something we really focused on as a group and no doubt that will be the same this pre-season."
The Carlton captain was speaking ahead of his first day of pre-season, having just emerged from a one-hour meeting with Mick Malthouse, in which the Blues coach had laid down his expectations on training standards ahead of the Christmas break.
Murphy, 27, said he was injury-free and had been training nearly every day for the past eight weeks.
Just as importantly, he said the Blues' playing group was in far better health than last pre-season when a raft of players were recovering from off-season surgeries.
"Certainly it's much better seeing no one on crutches and I haven't seen many moonboots in there – it's good," Murphy said.
"I think we've only had four post-season surgeries compared to 20-odd at the end of last year.
"Getting everyone out there on the track from day one is going to make a world of difference because everyone can get out there and work on the game plan and really nail that over the next three months."
Despite a busy off-season that saw the Blues snare Giants Kristian Jaksch and Mark Whiley, Western Bulldog Liam Jones and Sydney Swan Matthew Dick, Murphy joked that tall Matthew Kreuzer remained Malthouse's favourite 'recruit'.
Foot injuries limited Kreuzer to just one game in 2014, but Murphy said 2007's No.1 draft pick was ready to throw himself into the 2015 pre-season from day one.
"With all the pressure he's been under and all the scrutiny, he's such a great fella around the club," Murphy said of Kreuzer.
"It's great to see his body finally in the condition where he can get out there and get a full pre-season under his belt and finally hit the ground running in round one."
