“I still think we’ve got one of the best teams in the league.”
“I still think we’ve got one of the best teams in the league.”
That’s the defiant message from goalkeeper Danny Vukovic as Perth Glory continue their preparations for Saturday’s crunch clash with Melbourne Heart.
Last weekend’s narrow defeat in Wellington may have seen the men in purple slip to the foot of the Hyundai A-League ladder, but they remain only two points outside the top six and Vukovic insists that a finals berth is still well within their grasp.
“There’s only one way for us to go now we’ve hit the bottom,” he said, “and that’s up.
“We need to start on the weekend and we’ve got a good record against Heart, so hopefully we can get three points there again.
“We’ve only got eight games left, so we need to start getting some points on the board, but the positive thing is that we’re still within touching distance of the top six, so hopefully we can go on a run now.
“Most teams have been on a bit of a run of consecutive wins, so now it’s our turn to try and do that.
“I definitely think we’ve got it in us.
“We showed that last year when we came back from adversity, sitting at the foot of the table and managed to get to a Grand Final, so we know we can do it.”
And the former Mariners man believes that the whole team needs to contribute on the goalscoring front if Glory are to repeat last season’s late charge.
“We’re the league’s lowest scorers,” he said, “so it’s important that we work on that in training and the boys have been hitting the back of the net today, so hopefully we can take that into the game against Heart.
“If we knew what the goalscoring problem was, we would have rectified it already.
“Shane (Smeltz) has been injured and missing him is obviously a big loss for us, but there are other boys in the team that need to step up.
Vukovic then went on to express his full support for coach Ian Ferguson, calling upon players and fans alike to help drive the club back to winning ways.
“At moments like this you have to be united,” he said.
“Fergie’s dealt with it before during his time here in Perth.
“Last year we were at the bottom and people were calling for his head and he got us to a Grand Final, so there’s no reason why it can’t happen again.
“We’re all behind him and the pressure’s also on us, not just the coach.
“The football that we’ve played this season has been fairly good, but it seems as if the luck’s not there with us.
