Heartened by discussions with the club about its direction and where he fits into its plans, Gibbs said Carlton's future was less dire than many were predicting.

 

He said he hadn't thought at all about leaving Carlton despite his position as a restricted free agent, but negotiations took time.

 

"If it could be done tomorrow it would be done tomorrow," Gibbs said. "I'm settled in Melbourne. I've been here eight years."

 

However, Gibbs said he did not know if other clubs had approached his management, and that he didn't want to know if they had because he was focused on playing good football for Carlton.

 

He was unfazed by suggestions that Carlton might be better off losing Gibbs and receiving a top 10 draft pick as compensation to fast track its process of building a top-four team.

 

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that is fine but a lot of those people [aren't] around the inner sanctum of the footy club and don't have a full understanding of what is going on, so their opinions are irrelevant in my book," Gibbs said.

He said the club had outlined - in an informal manner - where he sat within its future plans during negotiations to ensure both parties were on the same page.
 
"I think both parties have come away really positive and glad that chat has happened," Gibbs said. 
 
Gibbs, 25, has played 162 games since making his debut in round one, 2007. He has been a durable performer and placed in the club best and fairest twice.
 
Carlton CEO Greg Swann indicated on radio in early April that although the club would not get into a bidding war for Gibbs, it wanted to retain him.
 
"You don't want to lose a guy who is 25 years old, who has got - if not his best footy - as good a footy as he has got still coming. You don't want to do that but, as I said before, it's relative. We don't think we can be held to ransom either so it is a balance," Swann said.
 
Gibbs said he was uncertain where the speculation about him leaving the club had come from but it had not come from him.
 
He said his skipper Marc Murphy had not spoken to him specifically about staying at the Blues "because everyone just assumes I will stay".
 
Gibbs, who grew up in Adelaide, said he had not given any thought to the prospect of returning to the place he was reared.
 
"My focus has been on playing good football and that is all I want to do and that is all it has been about," Gibbs said.
 
Gibbs admitted his form had been patchy in 2014 and that it mirrored the Blues' form. However he indicated the negotiations had not had any impact on his form.
 
"[It's] all external stress more than internal, so what do you do?" Gibbs said.
 
Sign?
 
"You can't rush these things," Gibbs said.