Rody Vargas does not believe there is any need to change Melbourne Victory’s defensive set-up and those who have criticised himself, Adrian Leijer and Kevin Muscat over the past few weeks could be forced to regret their words by season’s end.
Rody Vargas does not believe there is any need to change Melbourne Victory’s defensive set-up and those who have criticised himself, Adrian Leijer and Kevin Muscat over the past few weeks could be forced to regret their words by season’s end.
Victory’s use of the three central defenders in the same team has drawn some criticism this season, with suggestions the club would be better off reverting to a flat back four when full back Matthew Kemp returns from injury in the coming weeks.
However, Vargas is perfectly pleased with how things are working at the back and that any criticism of the performances of the club’s three key defenders are water of a duck’s back.
“I’ve been pretty pleased with my form. It’s been pretty tough as we haven’t been scoring as many goals. So the boys at the back, Musky, Ado and myself, have come under pressure and probably a lot of scrutiny. We’re all big boys and we can handle it,” he said.
“We had a string of games where we kept four clean sheets in a row, so we have shown that we can put it together. Once we start scoring, our midfield and strikers get their games working, it will take a lot more pressure of us and we’ll start picking up points.”
Vargas said that Victory’s previous record provides ample evidence that a side with he, Muscat and Leijer can perform well.
“The obvious answer is that it’s won two championships for us. We’ve finished on top, we’ve won championships, Ernie (Merrick) has put that in place and I’d hate to argue with that. He’s the most successful coach in Australia so far, so why would you change that?” he said.
“Ernie is happy with it, we are happy with it, it’s easy to criticise a formation and a structure when things aren’t going so well, but at the end of the day when the 30 rounds are over, I’d like to see if opinions differ then.”
Vargas does admit that Victory are under pressure to perform in Saturday’s away clash against Wellington Phoenix and that a result either way could have a big bearing on where they finish at the end of the season.
“Wellington are very solid at home, but like everyone knows, they’ve lost the last couple at home and they are just one game behind us. They play mid-week,” he said.
“It will be a big game for us. If they get a win this week, we will be even on points. It’s a six-pointer for us. Getting a win in Wellington it’s a must for us. Nothing less will suit us.”