Having been crunched in a club-record loss to Hawthorn and endured a heavy defeat to North Melbourne in the past fortnight, the Blues can act as a finals spoiler against the slumping Magpies at the MCG.

The Blues had lifted their tackling and general pressure until the Hawks' clash but their efforts have since dipped.

Barker said he and LoGiudice had discussed the issue since the annual Peter Mac Cup breakfast on Wednesday.

"Mark and I had a strong conversation later on about some other things - he has been full support, the CEO has been full support. Their work-rate and their want through this period has been really strong and really supportive," Barker said on Friday.

"That [conversation] was just with regard to how we are going at the moment and about us needing to provide a full four-quarter effort."

The Blues have said they expect to announce their new coach by the end of the month.

Barker did not want to buy into debate about Chris Yarran's future at the club, but said he was content to axe the struggling playmaker even though it could compromise the Blues' short-term aspirations - although Yarran's poor form hasn't helped Barker's hopes of claiming the top job on a permanent basis.

Yarran has been dropped for failing to show "four-quarter intent" in recent weeks. It's the second time Yarran has been dumped under Barker's watch, having been dropped in June for failing to arrive on time to team meetings. His body language on the field has been of a man not enjoying his football this season.

"We have got a number of players that have come out of the team this week on the basis of not being able to provide a full four-quarter intent. We are very confident they will go back to the VFL team and provide intent and fight their way back in the team," Barker said.

"He [Yarran] understands that he is struggling a little bit in terms of form and, sometimes, what looks like a lack of intent is sometimes a lack of confidence. The way you grow out of that is not waiting for something to happen - you need to fight your way out of it and do something about it. Chris knows that.

"I think he is gutted the way he is playing at the moment. He is obviously concerned he is not providing Carlton with what he knows he can. He is really keen to get some of that confidence back."

Yarran is contracted for 2016 but could yet be traded, with rival clubs, including Richmond, expressing an interest. If Yarran were traded, the Blues could secure an additional first-round draft pick as they begin what shapes as a three-season rebuild.

Underperforming flanker Troy Menzel was also axed, and he has much work to do on his physique and fitness over summer in order to become a consistently strong AFL player.

"His body has been not as durable as we would like but Troy is in the same boat, we just want strong intent for full quarters," Barker said.

"Whether they are capable or not capable, we need that intent. He knows he needs to go back and work on the full four-quarters."

Yarran and Menzel, however, will still get to grace the MCG on Saturday, for the Northern Blues will play their Collingwood counterparts in a warm-up to the main game.

Former Western Bulldog Jason Tutt was also dropped, with veteran Andrew Walker one of three inclusions having overcome a knee injury.

"As I said, we need weight of numbers with regard to intent with all of our players. We can't be conditional on who it is, what the name is. We need to make sure that if we want to stand for something as a club and we want to move forward, and give ourselves the best chance of being a really good team going forward, we need to stand for a strong four-quarter intent," Barker said.

"It's not tough for me. The Carlton Football Club's future is what comes first and foremost and I have no intent of wasting the next five weeks, and I have no intent of wasting the full 12 weeks I have had. It compromises us some ways in the short term but if we want to be a good team, we need to set a high standard."

The Blues face a Magpies unit that has dropped six straight matches and finds itself battling to remain in finals contention.

While the Blues could have the incentive of acting as a finals spoiler, Barker said his team were more intent on just playing to the best of their ability.