Kurz vows form reversal
WITH Melbourne Victory floundering near the foot of the A-League table, coach Marco Kurz says he can still turn things around.
External pressure is mounting on the Victory boss and his team after a horror start to the season — only one win from seven games — with tonight’s clash with struggling Perth Glory shaping as a crunch match. There are arguably higher expectations at traditional powerhouse Victory than at his previous club Adelaide, but Kurz said he did not feel more pressure to succeed.
“We have a couple of problems and we have to handle it — I have to handle it because I am the head of the group, the head of the boys and I’m here to get a result for our fantastic club and that’s what I have to do, that’s the point,” he said yesterday.
“But it’s not more pressure, I give to myself enough pressure because I want to work (successfully) for my club.”
Kurz said he could not judge his own job security, but was determined to turn things around.
On Wednesday, Victory chief executive Trent Jacobs said the “whole club” was feeling pressure but was not panicking and emphasised the importance of supporting Kurz and his team.
“For me more than anything it’s about making sure (Kurz is) feeling comfortable, that he’s being given the best opportunity and the most opportunity to succeed and genuinely knowing that he’s got support wrapped around him,” Jacobs told SEN.
“There wouldn’t be a day that goes past that we don’t talk but for me, first and foremost, how do we support the coach, how do we support the coaching team, how do we give them and the team every chance to perform?”
Victory’s struggles have not been helped by injuries to Robbie Kruse, Tim Hoogland and
Andrew Nabbout, but imports Kristijan Dobras and Jakob Poulsen have failed to impress, compounding the situation.
Dobras will not feature for the second consecutive week, with Victory looking to build his fitness after a lacklustre start.
“The late signings were always hard for us,” Kurz said.
“The fitness level, not only from Dobras, was not the same, maybe, from other players.
“But he had, during this time, some problems — with some game time we thought (we) could handle it but now we decide to give him more time to set up his fitness, to show the quality.”
With the January transfer window approaching, the next four games shape as a chance for players to impress — or risk being replaced when Victory can adjust a struggling squad.
Meanwhile, Victory will be without Thomas Deng tonight after he suffered a groin injury in training.