Melbourne captain Max Gawn has described Michael Voss’ decision to quit as Carlton coach as “premature”, saying Blues skipper Patrick Cripps would be worried by the looming fallout.

Voss stood down following Friday night’s loss against the Brisbane Lions, Carlton slipping to 1-8 and effectively out of finals contention.

Melbourne sacked Simon Goodwin as coach in August last year, leading Gawn to empathise with Cripps’ situation.

“I feel like it’s premature (the resignation),” Gawn told Triple M.

“15 weeks for an interim coach is a long time. I’d be worried if I was a captain with an interim coach for 15 weeks.

“It’s a big job for ‘Crippa’. He’s had a mountain of work over the last five, six years, and he’s got another big one now to keep, to keep everything going.”

Lions coach Chris Fagan hailed Voss, who captained Brisbane to three premierships.

“Personally, I find him a fantastic bloke,” Fagan said on Tuesday.

“He’s obviously a legend of our football club.

“If you talk about Brisbane Lions, there’s two names that are the legends of the Brisbane Lions in my eyes, and that’s Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss, for all that they did back in the 2000s.

“I wanted him to to do well with his coaching and I always get disappointed when I see coaches (lose their job).

“I just wish him all the best and hope he’s not lost to footy. He’s always welcome at our club.”