Perth Glory interim head Coach Ian Ferguson says he’s looking for some mental steel from his players as he tries to turn around the disastrous slump that’s seen the club lose seven straight matches.
Perth Glory interim head Coach Ian Ferguson says he’s looking for some mental steel from his players as he tries to turn around the disastrous slump that’s seen the club lose seven straight matches.
On the back of last Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Mariners, Ferguson has promised more changes to the team for Wednesday night’s clash with Melbourne Heart at nib Stadium.
But more than anything, the coach is looking for his side to remain positive in the face of adversity, saying he’s been particularly disappointed with the way players have responded after conceding the first goal over the past few weeks.
‘We want to get a little bit more from players at times,” Ferguson said.
“I feel as though at games, I’ve noticed lately that when the first goal goes in our heads go down a little bit and that’s not what I want.”
“I want players who, when the first goal goes in, start believing in themselves and have hope that we can carry on and keep playing and trying salvage that.”
“But that’s not been the case the last few games.”
“It has a lot to do with how the players react to pressure. It’s difficult at this time.”
“As I keep saying there’s no magic formula and we’ve got to keep going in a direction where we think we’re going to try and get out of it and look positive, be positive and go forward.”
Glory captain Jacob Burns will return after a one game suspension while defenders Scott Neville (corked thigh) and Jamie Harnwell (calf) will need to prove their fitness.
Neville came off at half time against the Mariners while Harnwell missed the match.
Ferguson will again tweak the squad for the Heart clash as he searches for the right balance. The coach has again said no player is safe and even hinted he-ll elevate players from the Youth team if the current squad continue to underperform.
“I’ve got two days to mould the team together,” he said.
“We’ll see what we can do in that time and as I said there will be opportunities for young players.”
“It could be unsettling, but we’ve lost the last seven so we’ve got to do something.”
“I can’t sit on my backside and do nothing and keep going the way we’re going, I’ve got to make a statement that what’s happening is not good enough.”
“It could get a lot worse believe me. There’s still 18 games to go so there’s a long way to go in this season.”
