Carl Veart says he let his side enjoy the win over Melbourne City even though he was not completely happy with the performance.
Veart and his side are headed to Melbourne to take on the Victory on Saturday night in what will be a top of the table Isuzu UTE A-League clash.
While the six-nil result over City had many standing up and taking notice, Veart has implored his side to take more care when in possession.
Speaking to the media on Friday before heading interstate, he also discussed how he enables his young players to succeed on the pitch, and how he thinks they will cope with the heat of the Original Rivalry this weekend.
Carl Veart on the feeling in the group after starting the season with wins over both of last season’s grand finalists:
“The boys are obviously on a high point (after) two very good performances. And we’re going into the big derby for us, so the boys are really looking forward to it and have had a great week on the track.
“We let them go and let them enjoy it. That’s what football is about, you know, there’s ups and downs in the game so it’s important that you enjoy it.”
Carl Veart on what he has not been happy with in the opening two rounds of the season:
“I suppose in all times in games, you’re going to have down times in games where the other team gets on top. And it’s just a matter of as recognizing those periods and taking our time a little bit more and getting a little bit more possession at times, we’ve turned the ball over a little bit too easy when the other team would get a little bit of a run out on us. It’s just important that we just manage that part of the game a little bit better.
Carl Veart on how he enables young players to succeed:
“It’s that balance. You don’t want to give them too much information, you want them to go out and learn the game. And you learn the game by making mistakes. It’s important that they can have that freedom where there’s no fear for them so we don’t put too much pressure on them. You know, as long as their effort is where we need it to be they pretty much have the freedom to express themselves and go out and enjoy it.”
Carl Veart on Bernardo’s start to the season:
“He’s been fantastic. It was unfortunate last season that he had that long term injury but in preseason, he’s worked extremely hard. And it was just unfortunate he picked up this minor injury just before the season started and then he got some illness as well, otherwise he could have been in the starting 11. He’s done a great job for us off the bench in the last few games and you know, it won’t be long before he forces his way into the starting eleven if he keeps performing like that.”
Carl Veart on how the young players will cope with the pressure of such a big rivalry game:
“I suppose you know, they’ve grown up coming to the stadium and seeing these games so they’re quite aware of the atmosphere and how much it means to our supporters plus the playing group as well.
Quite a few of the young boys have had a taste of it already, you know, last season so they know what to expect from the clashes with Victory as supporters are and maybe some players who aren’t still around look say it’s and it’s a big rivalry and has been you know, from when I started playing. I think we’re the ones who sort of kicked it off and we make sure that we encouraged how much we hate Victorians even though we’ve got a couple in the team, we make sure that they come over to South Australia fairly quickly.”
Carl Veart on his personal coaching aspirations:
“I’m the same as the players you always want to challenge yourself and get to the highest level you can but at the moment, I’m very happy where I am. I’m really enjoying and learning my trade, I suppose, as a coach. My full focus at the moment is just what I can do today. “
Carl Veart on what he has made of the Victory this season:
“They’re always well-organized side under Poppa, defensively hard to break down. And they’ve recruited some quick attacking players that can get in behind you and do some damage. So, it’s important that we have our focus on how we want to stop them and play our football as well.”
