Melbourne City Head Coach Warren Joyce says his side has put all its focus on performing this Saturday night against Newcastle as they look to get back on the winner’s list after a barren month.
City has picked up one point in their last four matches in the A-League and despite the results Joyce has been positive about his side’s overall performances, saying individual errors have been the catalyst to the downturn.
Saturday’s mouth-watering clash with Newcastle has the Englishman looking forward to seeing the response from his side who he insists have put a rocky month of fixtures behind them.
“You’re only as good as the game tomorrow and that’s the same for us as much as Newcastle,” Joyce said.
“We are capable of pushing in from the back, being aggressive and dominant but (over the past few weeks) we couldn’t do that because we have given teams a goal start.
“We’ve reacted positively but we have to get out of the box and be brave up against teams on the front foot.”
“Newcastle are free flowing and have some big threats in their side. They have got people who can score goals from a variety of positions so we’ve got to be aware of that and look at the things they are not as good at, just the same as any other team.”
A re-shuffle in the coaching ranks has seen W-League Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo take up and interim role in the Senior Men’s side and Joyce has been pleased to see the work the former Club captain has put in to his coaching.
“Patrick has been training with us this week, he’s juggling his jobs at the football club but you want everybody pitching in and helping out, driving the football club forward and driving the players forward,” he said.
“You’re looking to develop the young players here as well and there has got to be plans in place to see them through and work them through. You are looking to develop and improve the club and people like Patrick are important.”
With Osama Malik out of this week’s side, Joyce told media on Friday that he would not be making drastic changes to the side but says a number of youth players are in the mix to take up a role on the team sheet.
“There is a couple of young lads who have been doing really well at training and are pushing towards getting to the quad,” he said.
“They have done well but then things have happened to them later in the week, for example Ramy (Najjarine) got a bang to his face that we are not sure about so there is little bits (of concern) but it’s not from the senior players.
“(Osama) went off last week and we performed well in midfield, even with a man down. I thought we dominated the game, dominated possession and produced some good movement and passing so that’s a positive sign.”
City face Newcastle on Saturday night at McDonald Jones Stadium, kick-off 7.50pm. See the match live on Fox Sports 501 and free-to-air ONE HD.
