Adelaide United head coach Carl Veart spoke to the media ahead of Friday night’s home fixture against Macarthur FC at Coopers Stadium.
Veart addressed last week’s disappointment, potential changes to the squad, and the need to rediscover their winning form at home.
Veart on the team’s response after last week’s disappointment…
“It’s been good. To be fair to the players, they’ve always trained well, and this week has been no different. Even with the warm weather, the tempo has been excellent. Football can be funny when things aren’t quite going your way, but it’s important the players keep their belief and push forward. We know that when we work together as a team, we’re a very good side, and that’s what we need to focus on.”
Veart on his blunt post-match comments…
“We’re all trying to get better, and we have weaknesses in our side that we’re working to improve—not just in training, but in meetings as well. Everyone is on the same page and pushing in the same direction because we all want success. Yes, there will be disagreements at times, but as long as they’re healthy disagreements, we’ll be fine.”
Veart on potential changes to the lineup…
“I don’t know if there’ll be too many changes in the lineup, but we need changes in our mentality and our tactical approach. We’ve had a really strong week on the training pitch, and we’re looking forward to showing our quality on Friday night.”
Veart on tactical adjustments…
“The issues haven’t really been with us when we have the ball. Even though we struggled to break Brisbane down last week, sometimes the opposition defends really well. We could have been a bit smarter in our decision-making with the ball, and we’ve worked on that this week. We’re facing another strong defensive side in Macarthur, so our focus has been on both our defensive structure and moving the ball quickly to create openings.”
Veart on squad depth and selection dilemmas…
“We’re fortunate to have almost everyone back—Panashe [Madanha] is the only player on the injury list. The players who haven’t been in the starting lineup have been training extremely hard, pushing for their opportunity. If those in the XI aren’t meeting expectations, there are players ready to step in. That’s what we need: competitive intensity at training. We had it in the first half of the season, and we’ve had it again this past week and a half, so I expect a big improvement.”
Veart on the returning Young Socceroos…
“Their return was tough, especially in those conditions last week. It was a hot day, and the sun made it even more difficult. But they’ve come back on a high, and they all want to do well. They know that to make the squad for the U20 World Cup, they need to be playing and performing at a high level. That’s good for us as a club because if they lift their intensity, it raises the level for everyone.”
Veart on Adelaide’s struggles at home…
“We’ve made some changes to how we train leading into home games, and we’ve also adjusted how we do our meetings to get the focus right. Our away form has been excellent, but we need to pick up more wins at home, especially for our fans. They support us passionately, and we want to reward them with good performances and results.”
Veart on making adjustments…
“When things aren’t working, you have to make changes. What we’ve been doing at home hasn’t worked, so we’re always looking for ways to improve. The staff is constantly analysing what we can do better, and we need to find the right formula to get results at home.”
Veart on the team’s goals for the rest of the season…
“You have ups and downs over the course of a long season. We’ve been training since week 37 of preseason, and it’s difficult to maintain high energy levels and performance levels for that entire period. Every team has dips in form, and we’ve had ours, but we know what we need to do in the final stretch. If we stick to our plan, we can achieve success, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
