MELBOURNE, May 27 -- Just three weeks after breaking the all-time Australian Football League (AFL) coaching record of 715 games, Mick Malthouse was sacked by the Carlton Football Club.

The dismissal brings the curtain down on one of the greatest careers in the Australian game. Malthouse played 174 games for St Kilda and Richmond in the 1970s and 80s, before moving straight into coaching in 1984.

He led Footscray first, and then had successful stints at both West Coast and Collingwood, where he won three premierships, before his ill-fated move to Carlton in 2012.

His sacking comes on the back of a string of poor performances from the Blues, which slipped to just one win from eight games to start the year. Four of the clubs losses were by the demoralizing margin of 10 goals or more.

Despite the poor start to the season, the club's players were determined for Malthouse's stay at the club, with midfielder Dale Thomas telling Melbourne radio on Wednesday that players felt "sorry" for the coach.

"I briefly saw him in his office (yesterday) and just said thanks. There was a stream of players going in to thank him for everything and I was just in that queue wanting to reiterate how grateful I was for everything he has done to me over the journey," he told Nova 100 radio.

Thomas, publicly known as one of Malthouse's favorite players dating back to their time together at rival club Collingwood, blamed the press for the unceremonious dumping, and said that they were "calling for his head" long before the decision was made.

The club is facing an uphill battle to restore its reputation as one of the league's biggest and best entities, with news surfacing on Wednesday that John Worsfold, once thought to be a favorite to replace Malthouse as head coach, had unequivocally ruled himself out of the race to take the helm.

Instead, assistant coach John Barker has been given the reins to see out the remainder of the season. The club will instead seek applications for its senior coaching role, meaning it will be the first time in the club's 151 year history that they are advertising for a head coach.

But club greats are not only blaming Malthouse; some have lashed out at the Carlton hierarchy, slamming poor decision-making for the club's current, dire position.

News Corp reported on Wednesday that former player and coach Robert Walls labeled the club's board of directors a "disgrace" for letting the once-powerful club fall to its knees.

He said the club was in the wrong hands, and would now have to play catch-up with the rest of the competition to become the powerhouse it once was.

"Selflessness hasn't been shown at Carlton for some time," Walls said.

"I'll be honest, the Carlton Football Club's coaching panel, in my opinion, is the worst in the AFL."

Walls said it would take a "minimum of three-to-four years" before Carlton could consider itself a contender during a league finals series.

Malthouse broke the all-time record holder for games coached in the league just three weeks previously, but dispirited performances, unrelenting pressure from the Australia's football media, and ultimately Malthouse himself drew an end to his 718-game coaching career.

Incendiary comments made to radio network SEN was the final straw for embattled club President Mark LoGiudice and chief executive Stephen Trigg, who made the announcement without Malthouse present on Tuesday.

A statement released by Malthouse on Tuesday evening said he wished Carlton all the best for the rest of the 2015 season, and that he would "enjoy viewing the game from afar".

Meanwhile, in another story of longevity in the Australian indigenous code this week, Essendon Football Club's 40-year-old backman Dustin Fletcher is set to play his 400th AFL match on Saturday night, when he takes to the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Richmond in a match expected to attract a crowd of at least 80,000.