Arthur Diles is unsurprised by Melbourne Victory’s impressive form card.
The first Isuzu UTE A-League outing of the new year, at home to Perth Glory on Friday, January 2, kick-off 7:35pm AEDT, is an opportunity to pick up where they left off in 2025 and record a fourth consecutive win.
Adelaide United in the Original Rivalry, Melbourne City away in the derby, and Wellington Phoenix a few days after Christmas have all fallen to Victory at AAMI Park in recent weeks.
These outcomes, completing an unbeaten December, contrast with a mixed run of results to start the campaign, but for the Head Coach, this upturn is not unexpected.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Diles assessed how the work of an active off-season is starting to show.
“There’s a lot of turnover of players between last year and this year, that doesn’t just click, doesn’t just fall into play straight away. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of buy-in, and just a consistent message, and that’s daily on the training paddock.
“Now, as time goes on, the belief gets stronger, the football improves, and currently, we’re in a good place, but we’re definitely not where we want to be, and we’ve got to continue to work hard.”
Both teams head into the Round 11 fixture on the back of wins at AAMI Park. Victory, of course, swatted aside the Nix, whilst Perth beat Melbourne City 1-3 the previous evening.
Diles will, however, have to shuffle his pack for the hosting of Glory, as both Joshua Rawlins and Jordi Valadon are away on 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup duty with Australia, and the Head Coach talked through his options.
“There’s a selection headache at the back. We’ve got different full-backs that are available. We’ve got (Joshua) Inserra, we’ve got Kayne Razmovski, we’ve got Lachy Jackson as well.
“And in midfield, there is Denis Genreau, an obvious one to come back in, and we look forward to having Denis back in. But it also opens up an opportunity for Ollie (Dragicevic) to come back into the side as well.
“We’re looking forward to giving opportunities to those players. We’re not happy that we’re missing two very quality footballers, who, especially in the last fortnight, have played some of their best football this year, and in the end, they take that good form with them to the Olyroos.
“In the meantime, we fill the gaps here with the players that are ready to go.”
Watch Diles’ full press conference below.
