Adelaide United Head Coach Adrian Stenta spoke to United Media ahead of the much-anticipated Round One clash against Melbourne Victory. With a strong preseason behind them, despite a few key injuries, Stenta remains confident in his squad’s ability to deliver a successful campaign. He outlined the team’s focus on playing attacking football, tightening up defensively, and adopting a winning mindset every week to achieve their goals this season.
Stenta on the excitement ahead of Round One:
“Yeah, really excited and looking forward to the first game. It’s been a long time since our last match, so we’ve been working hard, preparing well, and we’re feeling confident about what we can show tomorrow and throughout the season.”
Stenta on the health and fitness of the squad despite key injuries to Hodgson, Holmes, and Sasaki:
“Unfortunately, a few players are out due to injuries they picked up in the off-season, which have carried into preseason. We’re focused on getting them back, and they’ll be available to play at some stage this year. Apart from that, the rest of the squad is looking really healthy. We’re fit, and we’re happy with the hard work and the volume of training we’ve been able to get in during preseason.”
Stenta on how preseason went as a whole:
“Last year was short, interrupted, and a bit challenging, to be honest. So I’m grateful the Club supported my wish to bring the players back a bit earlier this time. We were also able to travel to Mildura and play against A-League opposition, which we haven’t done before. Overall, I’m really pleased with the work we’ve put in and how the preseason has unfolded.”
Stenta on what we can expect from the team from a style point of view:
“Our team principles won’t change. We’ll still play the way I believe football should be played because I think it can lead to success. Last year was disappointing, and we spent a lot of time in the off-season reflecting and putting plans in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We’re happy with where we are heading into Round One. We’ll take on the opposition, attack more, and score more goals to win more games. We also need to tighten up at the back because we conceded far too many goals last year. That’s been a big focus for us going into this season.”
Stenta on goals for the season:
“We want to enter every week with a game plan and a winning mindset. That’s our main goal. We believe that ladder positions and results will take care of themselves if we focus on winning each game. We’re confident in our ability to get positive results, and everything we do will be geared towards winning each week.”
