Victory coach targets fans in search for win
After their midweek exertions in Asia, Melbourne Victory players will be monitored closely before their A-League meeting with Adelaide United tonight.
Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat has backed his players to dig deep and get a result against Adelaide United to end a month of A-League pain.
And he’s called for fans to drop their misgivings about his under-pressure management to help him get it.
Victory are winless in five, including two tough contests in Asia, and resume in the A-League after three straight defeats that have put a cloud over his tenure.
It doesn’t help that his players landed back in Melbourne only on Thursday afternoon, almost 48 hours after their 4-1 loss to Shanghai SIPG, before the crunch match at AAMI Park.
But Muscat isn’t in an excuse-making mood for his group, hoping to pull a memorable performance out of the fire against their original rivals.
“Tomorrow night has it’s own difficulties with everything around it” he said yesterday.
“We’ve got a resilient group with some tough characters in that group and we’re going to have to stand up,
“(Losing three in a row) is a genuine issue for us.
“We maybe looked and thought we could be in a better position at the start of the season than what we are now but the reality is we are where we are.
“I’m getting on with my responsibilities. At this point in time it sounds like our season’s over with all the commentary and talk but there’s still seven games to go.”
After being booed by Victory fans on their last-out loss in the league, a 2-1 defeat by Brisbane Roar, Muscat said he’d like more encouragement from the stands – with a quid pro quo from his players.
“By all accounts there’s going to be a decent crowd here tomorrow night. What I will say is the players need our fans to support them and get behind them,” he said.
“The flip side of that is the fans need the players to go out and put on a performance to make them happy.”
Muscat said he would give his travel-weary players until the last possible moment to show their fitness.
Matias Sanchez, who is not a part of their ACL squad, didn’t travel and could feature.
For Adelaide, Ersan Gulum is out with suspension, with Johan Absalonsen (glute) and Tarek Elrich (knee) off the Reds’ injury list.