Melbourne Victory head coach Tony Popovic is focused on reversing his side’s current run of poor form.
On the performance…
“(We) lost another game. So that’s pretty clear.”
“I thought we actually played well. It was a good game.”
“We were well in the game, we created some good opportunities.”
“I can’t fault the players for their effort and what they gave tonight. That’s not in question. Maybe they’re lacking a bit of confidence, in particular when we go behind.”
“We’re getting punished for mistakes and we’re not capitalising on our moments and our opportunities.”
“We’ve got to do a little bit more than just work hard.”
“We lacked six senior players today. That’s a lot I think in anyone’s team.”
“But I still feel today we should definitely have gotten something out of the game. So that’s disappointing.”
On making mistakes…
“I think mistakes happen throughout a game.”
“Individuals do make mistakes. At the moment, those mistakes – there are not many – but when they happen we get punished.“
“We’ve got to find a way that, if that happens, that we can win the game.”
On Nishan Velupillay…
“He did well. It’s the best start he’s had for the club since I’ve been here.”
“It’s the best starting performance he’s had, against a good team, and I thought he did very well.”
On breaking the cycle of results…
“We’ve got to break the cycle. The cycle’s not going to be given to us to be broken, we have to break it.”
“You can reinvent the wheel and change everything completely, and what do you do when that doesn’t work?”
“They’re a good group of players. Good bunch of boys.”
“We’ve had, unfortunately, a lot of injuries. Lacked stability at the back, and continuity. Players playing injured to try and help [the stability and continuity] grow.”
“Putting that aside, we should be in a better position.”
On the return of more fans…
“I’m disappointed that they go home without a result.”
“We felt their energy at the start, we felt their energy in the first half and even at the end (when) we were down 2-1, they’re supporting the boys and trying to get them back in the game.”
“I don’t think they go home disappointed with the effort and commitment from the group. They’ll go home disappointed with the result.”
“When you look at the table, we’re at the wrong end. They’re not the only ones that aren’t happy about that.”
On whether he is feeling any pressure…
“There’s pressure every week for a coach. When you’re at Melbourne Victory there’s always pressure, regardless of the results.”
“But we’re at the bottom and I’m the head coach and we’re losing games – that’s my responsibility.”
“It’s not a good situation. I’m not happy about it. But the solution isn’t running away from it. It’s working hard and making sure that we can get that circuit breaker.”
On adding players to the squad…
“We’re hoping to get a few back (from injury) next week.”
“I don’t know whether we will have (any new players) – we’re obviously looking, working hard behind the scenes to try and bring some players in that can add that quality and depth to the squad that we need.”
“But it’s not from a lack of trying if it doesn’t happen for next week.”
