Melbourne Victory Head Coach Tony Popovic spoke this morning ahead of tomorrow night’s AAMI Park clash with Macarthur.
The fixture will be Victory’s first game in 13 days following two postponements.
Popovic on the break:
“It’s been 13 days since we played after such a busy schedule. The boys are really raring to go.”
“We tried to make the most of it, look at it as a positive, get some good teamwork in, and from tomorrow the game’s come thick and fast for us.”
On Macarthur:
“I think they’re a very good team.”
“They have some fantastic individuals and they’re a hard, aggressive team defensively. They’ve got some real experience at the back and some flair going forward.”
“We expect a really tough game.”
On keys to winning against Macarthur:
“The transition moments are crucial that we don’t give them those chances to break quickly and get forward in numbers because they do it with speed.”
“If you lose a ball or give it away cheaply, they’ll punish you and they’ve also got some resolve at the back to keep you out.”
“They’ll come here full of confidence but we feel we had a good win against Central Coast and a couple of good weeks of training now, so the players are ready to play here in front of our fans and members.”
On the busy month ahead:
“It’s a huge challenge for us but an exciting one as well.”
“Things are out of our hands with the postponed games, FFA Cup success, covid, weather conditions around the country…we can only control what we can.”
“The Japan game is a reward for winning the Cup and we’ll embrace the challenge.”
“Yes, it will be difficult, but it’s an exciting month ahead and we want to win as many points as possible to ensure we’re in a position where we can challenge the best sides at the end of the year.”
Watch the full press conference:
