Arthur Diles was delighted to see Nikos Vergos get his just deserts against Wellington Phoenix.
Melbourne Victory’s striker hit his first Isuzu UTE A-League hat-trick in the Round 10 showdown at AAMI Park, an inspired performance which supercharged a third straight win to round out an unbeaten December.
Fellow attackers Santos, opening his account for the 2025/26 season, and Keegan Jelacic completed a 5-1 win for the home team, which takes them into sixth position on the ladder.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Diles praised the application of Vergos, who also netted a double in the recent success over Adelaide United.
“It’s just a result of hard work. That’s all it is. He hasn’t changed his attitude, he hasn’t changed his application, hasn’t changed his work ethic, and he just turns up every day and does what he needs to do as a professional footballer.
“And I’ve always been confident that things will turn, it’s only a matter of time. And that’s football for you, isn’t it? One minute, you could be down in the dumps. Next minute, you could be on cloud nine. It’s great for Nikos. More importantly, it’s great for the team.”
Diles extended his positive appraisal to the entire playing group, who now face a quick turnaround to hosting Perth Glory on Friday, January 2, kick-off 7:35pm AEDT, identifying that further individual development will strengthen the collective.
“The team’s improving every week, and that’s important for us, because we’ve got a high ceiling, and we need to keep improving to be the best version of ourselves. Today was another step forward. We’re not where we need to be yet, we’re still improving, and we still have a lot of room for growth.
“The important thing is that each week, we get better and better. And individuals, week to week, they have to get better as well, because when they’re the best version of themselves, this team is always stronger.”
Watch Diles’ full press conference below.
