Adelaide United Isuzu UTE A-League coach Carl Veart will resist the urge to make wholesale changes to his line-up following the disappointing loss to Sydney FC in the club’s last match.
The Reds lost 5-1 at home to the previously winless Sky Blues, the club’s first loss of the season.
The international break has provided Veart and his side a chance to reflect on the opening four games of the season, and in particular conduct a deep review of the loss at Coopers Stadium.
Ahead of the trip to Ballarat to tackle Western United on Sunday, Veart spoke to the media about having faith in his side to respond, the ongoing attention on teenager Nestory Irankunda and the length of time full-back Panashe Madanha will spend on the sidelines following ankle surgery.
Carl Veart on having the international break after the disappointing five-one loss to Sydney FC:
“It was good to have the break to give the boys a little bit of a rest as well. It gave them a little bit of time to contemplate the performance as well that we had against Sydney last time.
“We’ve had a good two weeks on the track since then, and good focus. We know what our football looks like and that when we play well, we win but to play well there’s certain – boxes that we need to tick – and we just didn’t tick them.”
Carl Veart on whether he punished the side after the loss to Sydney:
“I don’t hit the players that much with a stick. I’m very relaxed with them and I know you’re going to have these ups and downs. And I think the effort was there, it was just that a poor performance.
“They’ve got a lot of pride themselves the players, and they know they underperformed, and there’s no better way to get over that than to get another three points. And hopefully we can do that this weekend.”
Carl Veart on the ankle injury which will keep Panashe Madanha sidelined for a period:
“It’s an unfortunate one for Panashe. He had an operation on Tuesday so he’ll be out for at least 10 weeks. It was an unfortunate one. He just, leading into the Sydney game, went into a challenge with Nestor (Irankunda) and rolled his ankle. And then after the Sydney game, the pain got a little bit worse for him and we went in and had a look and (found) he’s done his syndesmosis.”
Carl Veart on the importance of having fellow full-back Javi Lopez back fit and in the squad:
“Very important. You know, Javi is a very experienced player, and always does the job when we need him so there’s an opportunity for him this week, or if not this week, definitely next week.”
Carl Veart on whether there will be wholesale changes to the line-up after the Sydney loss:
“The boys in the first four games, they’ve had one poor performance. So, we’re not going to make (too many) changes. It’s important that we keep our system that we’re playing and we’ve changed a little bit from last season, same as other teams. We’re only four weeks in, it’s going to take time before we get that consistency and the full team gelling together on what we’re trying to do.”
Carl Veart on whether the announcement around Nestory Irankunda signing with Bayern Munich is a relief for the teenager and the club:
“This is something that everyone behind closed doors has known for a long time. It’s just hopefully it will take you guys to stop asking questions about him. And then he plays football because that’s all we want. You know, he’s just a young kid that’s going to make a lot of mistakes. And it’s about him focusing and playing his football.
“He’s a very exciting player to play and I don’t think you get to see too many players in Australia that can do what he can do so he will definitely bring supporters to the game. And as they said that it’s important that you get out and especially when we play at home, come out and see him because he has a very rare talent.”
Carl Veart on playing Western United in Ballarat:
“It’s something different. It’s always a good trip. It doesn’t really matter where you play. It’s not that far from out of Melbourne Airport so we’re on a little bus trip so there shouldn’t be too much issue. You know, I suppose the difficult thing is that you know, we’re playing on an AFL oval, not a soccer oval.”
