Speaking after the Blues' 23-point loss to the Hawks - who snapped a six match losing streak - Pagan said he felt that some of his younger players got ahead of themselves after the round 18 win over Melbourne, and this was a major factor in the side being slow out of the blocks.
"We had a good win last week and I'm sure some of our young guys had a mini celebration inside their own noodles and it's carried on longer than it perhaps should have," said Pagan, whose Blues trailed by 55 points at one stage in the match before a second-half surge.
"It's amazing. You see a young group of people, where everyone at the club was talking about 'we're a chance of winning two in a row' and probably getting in front of yourself.
"You've got to start the game well. There aren't too many sides that come back from seven goals to two at quarter time. It's just disappointing."
It was a complete turnaround in the second half for Carlton, as the Blues' players applied more pressure, ran with the ball and defended and used their bodies effectively against a Hawks team that had been dominating them.
"We were that disappointing in the first quarter and yet we come out, after you get into them and after you talk to them and after there's a bit of wind up and a few strong things said, they come out and their pressure was enormous," Pagan said.
"We were coming so hard at the finish and I know you can talk about missed opportunities … who knows what could have happened," Pagan said.
The Blues' defeat puts them back on the bottom of the ladder with three games remaining, and according to the veteran coach, it proved that even the best-laid plans can come unstuck when players don't follow team rules.
"All of our plans looked so good before the game and it just gets down to one thing - intensity, the effort, pressure and strong over the ball when it's your turn. It's amazing how it can change," Pagan lamented.
"We've had a lot games this year where we've been beaten by three goals but it was just disappointing to get beaten the way we did after such a good effort last week."
Pagan did find time however to single out the amazing efforts of his Coleman Medal-favourite spearhead, Brendan Fevola, for his return of eight goals - including five in the second half - in a losing effort.
Dragged in the first quarter for undisciplined play and a 50-metre penalty against him, Fevola turned it around in the second half and was able to keep Blues fans' hopes of a miracle comeback alive.
"He (Fevola) was sensational after that, with eight goals. He looked all at sea very early in the piece but we had a bit of a chat and he got it right," he said of Fevola, who is expected to recover from the slight concussion he sustained when accidentally elbowed by teammate Chris Bryan - which forced him from the ground - for the Blues' round 20 match.
