Midfielder Fabian Barbiero says the Reds remain upbeat and determined to build up their resilience.
Midfielder Fabian Barbiero says the Reds remain upbeat and determined to rediscover the character and resilience that went missing after they went behind against Perth Glory last Sunday.
A dual recipient of Adelaide United-s Best Team Man Award, Barbiero understands about staying positive through the tough times and not caving in. For starters, on his way to becoming one of the Reds- prime midfielders, Barbiero made his way up through Adelaide-s local ranks before being invited out to United training as a train on player. However, there were no guarantees of securing a contract and he had to continually work hard to land a place in the squad.
The 27 year old has also had to deal with his fair share of injury setbacks, particularly an ankle injury that cut short his chance of having any impact in the Reds- run into the finals last season. But after undergoing a lengthy rehabilitation program to get his ankle right, Barbiero has started in the Reds- last 11 games.
Echoing Coach John Kosmina-s comments after the loss to Perth, Barbiero, who spoke after the Reds- recovery session at Henley Beach, stated it was time for the players to roll their sleeves up and develop a stronger resilience.
“Each player has to look at themselves and show character…at the end of the day we-re the ones that put the performances on the park and the coach can only do so much. So it-s a mindset but we-ve got to be mentally stronger,” Barbiero said.
“We-ve just got to work harder for each other. It was quite hot on Sunday but you just block that out, it-s the same for both teams, so it-s just about attitude.”
Despite slipping a place to ninth on the table following Sunday-s result and only coming away from their three game stretch in eight days with one point, Barbiero said it is definitely not doom and gloom. Rather, he says the feeling amongst the squad is quite the opposite.
“The boys are positive. We are playing some good football and there is still a positive feeling around the club, so we-ve got Wellington at home this week and hopefully we can use that to our advantage,” Barbiero said.
Tickets for Friday night-s match against Wellington are available through Ticketek.
