Michael Marrone insists Adelaide United will be well prepared for the hectic schedule that awaits them ahead of a difficult run of away fixtures in both the Hyundai A-League and AFC Champions League (ACL).
Following United’s disappointing 0-3 defeat to Japanese giants Gamba Osaka in Group H of the ACL, Marrone said the Reds must pick themselves up and grab as many points as possible.
The Reds will play four matches in just under three weeks, starting with rivals Melbourne Victory on Saturday.
Guillermo Amor’s men then travel to China to face Jiangsu Suning, battle Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney, before hosting Korean club Jeju United at Hindmarsh Stadium.
“We’re still going to give everything we can in the league, it’ll be tough,” Marrone said.
“I think more so the games after, we’re going to Melbourne Victory (on Saturday).
“And then after that we’ve got nine or ten days away with three games on the trot, plus this one (against Victory).
“So four games within a pretty short time frame, we’re going to have to recover really well.
“But we’ve got (High Performance Manager) Greg King and all the other staff looking after us in that regard.
“We’ll just try and prepare the best and do the best we can.”
Speaking on Wednesday night’s loss to Gamba, Marrone admitted the J1 League side are a classy outfit and used their experience to their advantage.
“They were just like we expected, when you play Asian Champions League the teams are clinical and that proved the case,” Marrone said.
“And they probably didn’t get out of second gear, they set up really well against us and knew what they were doing.”
The right-back also believed the team competed well throughout the encounter, but lacked the ruthlessness up front.
“I think we had plenty of possession, but they’re experienced and have players like (Yasuhito) Endo who controlled the game,” he continued.
“They caught us on the counter a few times… On another day maybe we could’ve had some chances or put something away early.”
Adelaide United will face Melbourne Victory in Round 21 of the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 season on Saturday, 25 February at AAMI Park. Kick-off is at 7.20pm ACDT.
