Victory skipper Adrian Leijer says it’s the perfect time to pile on the pain for Melbourne Heart and take advantage of their undermanned side in this weekend’s Melbourne Derby.
Victory skipper Adrian Leijer says it’s the perfect time to pile on the pain for Melbourne Heart and take advantage of their undermanned side in this weekend’s Melbourne Derby.
Following a heavy training session on Tuesday and a meet-and-greet with fans in Nunawading, Leijer hadn’t had time to hear that Heart had lost defender Aziz Behich to Turkish club Bursaspor, his departure following hot on the heels of Vince Grella’s retirement the previous day.
But Leijer was in no mood to feel sorry for Victory’s cross-town rivals.
“They’ve had a big week obviously,” said Leijer.
“Vinnie Grella having to retire, which is sad for Australian football because he’s been such a great servant, and now obviously Aziz.
“It’s a good opportunity for him I suppose and something we need to capitalise on.
However, regardless of who plays for Heart, Leijer said it wouldn’t change Victory’s approach.
“We had (Alessandro) Del Piero last week,” he said referring to Victory’s 3-1 win over Sydney FC in a clash that the Sky Blues’ marquee man struggled to influence.
“But we didn’t even really speak about him, we focussed on what we wanted to do on the football pitch.
“(That focus is) showing in the way we’re playing. We’re dominating a lot of games now and it’s enjoyable to play in that team.”
Having delivered in front of over 26,000 people on Australia Day, goalkeeper Nathan Coe believes Victory are primed to replicate that effort in the last Melbourne Derby of the season, having produced a dramatic 2-1 win the last time these sides played.
“Every footballer wants to experience and play in front of big crowds,” Coe said.
“Last week was great and hopefully this week’s even bigger and better on and off the field.
“We had a good win this last weekend but it’s a derby game (coming up), so it’s all that little bit more important. Hopefully it’s a great day.”
Victory’s win over Sydney has catapulted the side into the Hyundai A-League’s top two and Leijer says the team is rallying behind Postecoglou’s call to leap-frog the Mariners into top spot by season’s end.
“We got a coach that sets high standards and before the Sydney game, his message to us was, ‘let’s get the three points today and then lets really have a crack at top spot’,” said Leijer.
“Obviously they’re five points clear of us at the moment.
“(But) we sort of had that hurdle getting into the top two for a while now and finally we’ve cracked that and now it’s important that we consolidate our position there and put some pressure on the Mariners.
“We think we’re playing some good football and the confidence is up and now is the most important time of the season and we can keep improving and keep building on what we’ve done, hopefully it’s an exciting finish to the season.”
