Bruce Djite has stated his belief that he and his teammates must do greater justice to Adelaide United Head Coach, Guillermo Amor, and his methods if the side is to secure its first win of the season.
Having gone down 4-2 to Melbourne City at Coopers Stadium on Thursday night, it was another improved performance by the Reds despite the end result.
Nevertheless, United striker, Bruce Djite, has said the entire squad must do justice to the teachings and guidance of Guillermo Amor and the rest of the coaching staff if results are going to start coming the Reds’ way.
“Guillermo can’t go out there and score goals for us, nor can he make saves for us,” Djite said.
“He sets us up exceptionally well and he’s doing a fantastic job.
“As players, we’re doing a disservice to him in the way that we’re carrying out our responsibilities and roles at the moment. I think we have to take this burden on our shoulders because we know very well what we should be doing and where we need to improve.
“If we’re not executing what he wants from us, we’ll continue to find ourselves experiencing difficulties. But if we turn that around and implement it all better, there’s no reason why we can’t get the results that we need.
“It’s impossible to win every game and it’s just as impossible to lose every game. It’s about sticking together and getting that first win and building on that momentum.”
United found themselves down by three goals twice in the match before Sergio Cirio and Pablo Sanchez scored goals to peg the margin back to two. And although the Reds have now put their scoreless run to bed, questions have now been raised regarding the team’s defence.
However, Djite seemingly views this as a naïve understanding of United’s game, saying countless moments in a match could impact the nature of an opposition attack or chance in general.
“Before the Melbourne City game, I kept being asked about getting the first goal of the season and about when we were going to finally get it,” Djite explained.
“Two days later it’s about the defence conceding goals and everyone’s pointing at them.
“To score goals we need to play well from the back, keeping possession, and being creative going forward. It’s the same defensively.
“Are we pressing well from the top? Are we a couple of seconds away (from scoring a goal) and is that causing us to be susceptible to counterattacks?
“These are the things we’ll analyse and see how we can rectify that, especially against an attacking side like Wellington (who we play next week).”
Djite commented on the closeness of the United squad in being a major factor in how the team will progressively overcome the challenges its facing, saying that the team’s next game against Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand is another good chance to construct some momentum.
“It’s of huge benefit that we have such good coaching staff and a group of players that are so close to one another. I’ve been in situations like this before at various clubs and without this togetherness, it’s very easy for everything to fall apart.
“It’s a testament to this club because the strongest thing we have here is the togetherness of the players and the coaches, which is very rare.
“We’ve been through adversity before and it’s probably why we’re so close, and maybe the other half is because we’re lucky enough to have brilliant people around the football club.
“We’re going to strip back the game against Melbourne and analyse it, but I don’t think we’re far off.
“Scoring the first goal and building on that momentum is the challenge we have against Wellington. It’s a good one to have and we’re all excited about it.
“Our togetherness and the long trip to New Zealand, there’s nothing better and we’re looking forward to it and more than confident about it.”
Adelaide United will face Wellington Phoenix in Round 6 of the Hyundai A-League 2015/16 season on Friday, 13 November, 2015, at Westpac Stadium. Kick off is at 5.00pm ACDT.
