Arthur Diles is demanding more of the same from his Melbourne Victory players when they do battle with the Central Coast Mariners.
On Monday evening, the Head Coach oversaw an emphatic 4-0 win over rivals Sydney FC at AAMI Park, the team’s joint-biggest winning margin this term.
Victory’s second success in four matches at the start of 2026 was arguably their most complete performance of the current Isuzu UTE A-League season; however, in a pattern mirrored across the competition, Diles’ team have grappled for consistency in results.
Therefore, the target is not just the next three points when visiting polytec Stadium on Sunday, February 1, kick-off 5pm AEDT, but another high-level performance.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Diles pointed to the Big Blue as the baseline for Victory moving forward.
“It was a fantastic performance; that’s the key for us, performance is number one.
“It was just another game that we won, which is fantastic, but most importantly is the way we performed and conducted ourselves and behaved on that pitch.
“Nothing short of that is going to be enough for us. That’s the standard that we want to keep up from here on moving forward. We have to be at that level and better.”
Diles is poised to have Captain, Roderick Miranda, and Japanese striker Charles Nduka, fresh from his NPL game time, available for selection on the road in Gosford.
Defender Brendan Hamill is also edging toward his return, in another positive for Victory as the second half of the season begins to take shape.
“Tomorrow is Brendan Hamill’s first game. He’ll play in the NPL for his first minutes, so we’re looking forward to him being back on the pitch.
“That means he’s only a couple of weeks away from being up for selection for the A-League.
“The plan is that he’s (Charles Nduka) part of the match day squad this week. He got through last week in the NPL, which was fantastic, and now he’s ready to go.”
Watch Diles’ full press conference below.
