Melbourne Victory coach Jim Magilton believes every one of the five remaining matches are must-win for his side, but he has yet to form an opinion of how many points his side will need to ensure they make the final six.
Melbourne Victory coach Jim Magilton believes every one of the five remaining matches are must-win for his side, but he has yet to form an opinion of how many points his side will need to ensure they make the final six.
Victory look in a tough position to make the playoffs, sitting five points adrift of seventh-placed Sydney with just a handful of matches remaining. Having not won back-to-back matches all season, Magilton said the best way to move up the table was to win every match from here on in.
“I think I’m going to have to put a bit of pressure on our lads but we’ve got to start winning games. On the back of a pretty good second half performance at Brisbane, albeit we didn’t get the result we went there, but build on that and hopefully take the game to what is a pretty confident Gold Coast side judging from the other night,” he said in reference to Saturday night’s match at Skilled Park.
With so many permutations as to the final position of the ladder, Magilton has not set a points target, just an ambitious plan to go through to the end of the season without dropping another point.
“The nature of this competition is such that anyone can beat anyone, you look at Gold Coast the other night, they give the best team in the division this year a real game and were probably unlucky not to come away with all three points,” he said.
“It’s very hard to gauge or judge. All I know is if we win games we stand a better chance.”
The club is on a record eight-match run without a win on the road and they have lost their past seven matches outside of Melbourne.
Nevertheless, they go into the game as favourites, given that Gold Coast sit bottom of the table and have had a tumultuous fortnight which has seen coach Miron Bleiberg depart the club.
But that tag as favourites doesn’t alter Magilton’s view of the game.
“Central Coast must have gone in there absolutely red-hot favourites and as is the case in any game of football, you always have an opportunity to win the game so Gold Coast will go into our game relishing the opportunity of playing against your Kewells, your Hernandezes, your Thompsons and whoever else,” he said.
“They are going to be up for the game. We have to recognise that and come out with whatever we have.”
Victory will go into the game without striker Danny Allsopp, who has an Achilles injury, and left back Fabio, who is struggling with a groin strain.
Magilton said Matt Foschini, Isaka Cernak and Diogo Ferreira have all returned from duty with the Olympic team and would be considered for selection for Saturday’s game.