Any lingering hopes of Essendon playing finals this season appear to be dashed after an embarrassing 76-point loss to Carlton at the MCG last night.

Essendon captain Jobe Watson told media this morning that while the group was disappointed with last night’s performance, the players still have a lot they can take from the year.

“There are still three games to play and now we are heading in what we thought was a better direction. Obviously that took a hit last night and we have to be focusing on being more competitive in the remaining games,” Watson said.

Watson admitted that inaccuracy and an inability to maintain intensity for four quarters ultimately cost the Bombers last night.

“In those types of games, scoreboard pressure is the key and if we could have been a little bit closer, it might have been a different scenario,” Watson said.

“We had just as many opportunities to be in front early on and to Carlton’s credit they came out and played harder and won the game.

“We were pretty uncompetitive in the last quarter and they started in the middle and got on a roll and it just turned pretty ugly in the end.

Watson says despite the media hype surrounding Carlton during the week, the Bombers were well-prepared for the match and says they need to go back and look at the match in order to take something from the last three games of the season.

“In any game of footy you have to be ready to come out and play,” Watson said.

“Carlton obviously made a statement in the media throughout the week that they were ready to come out and play and I think you can do that publically or internally.

“I think we were well-prepared for the game and we were in the game for three quarters and then we let it go and obviously that is something we will look to repair for next week against Collingwood.”