PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams says people are “kidding” themselves if they think the Power will play finals this season.

The Power slumped to 4-7 on Sunday night after suffering another heartbreaking loss on their home turf, this time to Carlton.

The shock defeat bore an uncanny resemblance to the round four loss to the Brisbane Lions, where the Power were mowed down after leading by 42 points at the final break.

This time it was the Blues who reeled in a 30-point three-quarter-time deficit to claim victory by 12 points.

“We really disappointed everyone today. I thought we probably played over Carlton for a fair time of the night without getting any return. We missed too many goals there for a while and kept Carlton in the game, but to their credit, they kept coming,” Williams said.

“We’re getting into a bit of a routine of being up with three minutes to go and then losing those games. We challenged ourselves about mental toughness tonight, without any doubt, and we certainly can’t stand up and say that we are [mentally tough].

“The game was there to be won. It was a really important game for our club and we’d be kidding ourselves if we think we’re going to be playing finals.”

Young forward Robbie Gray had a chance to put the Power 18-points ahead midway through the final term, but the ball cannoned into the woodwork, leaving the door open for a Matthew Kreuzer-led Carlton revival.

Williams labelled the loss “hugely disappointing” and said you could “put a tick next to” many of the tags the Power have accumulated this season, including ‘chokers’ and being ‘mentally weak’.

Williams kept his players behind closed doors for almost one hour after the final siren and said the group wasn’t “hiding” from the loss. Port Adelaide is still a mathematical chance to make the eight, but will need to win at least eight of the remaining 11 games. Williams said the focus would now switch to further improving the group, which is the fifth youngest in the AFL.

“The blue sky is still there. That’s the truth. I believe that the group has a lot of improvement in it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come perfectly like people anticipate or hope for,” he said.

“It’s a hard struggle and I suppose some of the greatest players, who have been through ups, downs, struggle, hurt and loss, if they can get through it they recover to be a much stronger and more resilient player.

“We’re behind where we were last year in terms of wins and losses, but I thought Alipate Carlile was terrific tonight and Travis Boak has been playing very well.

“I thought [Justin] Westhoff’s first half was probably the best he’s played for the club and [Steve] Salopek has had a brilliant year. We look to those players and you think that they’re coming on.

“It’s always a challenge to get them all to play well on the same night and obviously it didn’t tonight.

“We keep improving. We keep trying to improve. It’s a long journey to get back to where we were, but it’s a journey we’re willing to continue with.”