Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip says he is pleased with his side’s progress ahead of its clash with Gold Coast United.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John van ‘t Schip says he is pleased with his side-s progress ahead of its clash with Gold Coast United.
After failing to secure a win over the opening four rounds of the season, Heart has slowly begun to find form, clinching consecutive victories at home, including the historic win over cross town rivals Victory.
Buoyed by the recent surge in performance, van ‘t Schip believes Heart can maintain its rise over the coming weeks.
“Every game, we are trying to bring onto the pitch the things we do during the week, and sometimes it-s working out well for periods of the game,” he said.
“If we look back at the last two games, our match against Victory was the best we have played until now, if you really look at the things we would like to do.
“And Wellington away we know is always going to be a difficult game. Under the circumstances, we had a good approach to that and we were leading for a long part of the game.
“We can only be more than satisfied with the last two games and the team is getting even stronger. In total, the group is getting better, that-s of course what we all want and is something we have achieved over the last few weeks.”
Van ‘t Schip though is wary of the challenge posed by Gold Coast United, who currently sit fourth of the Hyundai A-League table.
The former Dutch international said Gold Coast-s energetic approach makes the side a difficult proposition.
“Gold Coast is a very good team in keeping possession. They like to play the ball around and have the players to do that. They don-t play that differently away or at home, and seem more comfortable at some away games,” he said.
“They are very unpredictable the way they play. The players have a lot of freedom of movement, with Jason Culina moving all over the park. Gold Coast likes to build up play from behind as well.
“And of course at set-pieces, they are strong, we have seen some footage of them and they have a lot length. As they showed last year, Gold Coast is a very solid team and it-s not going to be easy.”
