Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi has pinpointed the Newcastle Jets’ recent form as an example of how quickly his own side can reverse its fortunes.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi has pinpointed the Newcastle Jets- recent form as an example of how quickly his own side can reverse its fortunes.
As the Red and White prepare to visit Hunter Stadium in Round 7 of the Hyundai A-League this Sunday, Aloisi is confident his team can emulate the Jets- form of the past two weeks and halt Newcastle-s rise in the process.
Gary van Egmond’s side sat in tenth position on the table in the first three rounds, but after back-to-back wins are third in the Hyundai A-League rankings after six rounds, demonstrating how swiftly a side can recover from a slow start.
“We know it-s going to be a tough game because Newcastle are a team that works very hard,” Aloisi said.
“We look at them and see how they’ve turned their season around in the past few weeks… [and] we want to try and do the same.”
Click play on the video below to watch the full press conference.
Aloisi said the team had enjoyed a week of positivity on the training track and his players were looking forward to the challenge on Sunday against a confident Jets side.
“The players themselves are very positive about us turning it around and we know that we are on the right track,” Aloisi said.
“[Midfielder] Massimo Murdocca brought up a great story of when he was at Brisbane.
“They lost five on the trot and everyone was against them. Everyone said that was it – ‘Brisbane are finished now- – [but] they went on to win the title.
“They stuck together. They believed in what they were doing and they were fighting together.
“This is making our group stronger. Once we get through this, then our group will be stronger for it.
“That’s the belief of the players. The players have trained as hard as ever and they’re committed.”
The Jets have enjoyed consecutive 2-1 wins – over Adelaide United away from home and Brisbane Roar at Hunter – but Aloisi will not implement radical changes to counter the likes of striker Adam Taggart, nor shift structurally to account for the absence of the suspended defender Kew Jaliens.
“We don’t change too much drastically in terms of our shape or our structure,” Aloisi said.
“It-s more about improving and making sure that we still create other chances to score goals and we’re focused on that, but also on our defensive shape and the players know we need to compete when we go to Newcastle because they are a team that works very hard.”
Central defender Patrick Kisnorbo is rated an 80 per cent chance to return against the Jets, which could provide Aloisi with some flexibility in defence, while midfielder Andrea Migliorini returns to fitness after a spell on the sidelines.
Michael Mifsud, who returned to training this morning from international duty in Malta, will also carry some form into Sunday’s game after scoring for Malta on Tuesday, but Aloisi is still yet to decide how much of a role the forward will play.
“We have to see how he pulls up,” Aloisi said. “[He] ended up scoring for Malta on Tuesday night so hopefully that will give him some confidence and we’re hoping that he’ll play.”
