Carl Veart has emphasised the importance of the fans ahead of this weekend’s Original Rivalry, highlighting the incredible atmosphere that they create and their influence.
This Saturday’s match is part of the A-Leagues Pride Celebration this weekend. Coopers Stadium will host the annual Pride Cup for both A-League Men’s and Women’s teams.
Speaking to the media at Coopers Stadium after Friday’s training session, Veart spoke about the significance of The Original Rivalry, Adelaide United’s commitment to inclusivity and two key changes he may be forced to make ahead of the Pride Cup Clash.
Carl Veart on the significance of The Original Rivalry fixture:
“It’s always an important game. These games are big games, for the fans and the players. We’ll just go out there and try our best to get the result that we need.
We’ve set ourselves high standards and we know we haven’t reached those standards this season. So it’s important that we just keep pushing and get to the level that we want to get to. It’s important that we improve our quality and get the results that we want to get.”
Carl Veart on Melbourne Victory’s traveling supporters:
“The atmosphere at these games is always fantastic. And that’s something that’s really important – that the fans enjoy coming to the games. Without them, we wouldn’t have the league, we wouldn’t be playing, so it’s important that we recognise that. And that’s why these games are such great games, because of the involvement of the fans and the atmosphere that they create.”
Carl Veart on the teams recent form:
“The only stat that matters at the end of the day is wins and losses. And, at this point in time, we just haven’t picked up enough wins, we’re well aware of that and we’re disappointed. But in saying that, we’ve been able to give younger players a lot more minutes than what we expected at the beginning of the season.
But at the end of the day, we want to be a lot higher than what we are and we just have to keep pushing to get there.”
Carl Veart on Ryan Kitto and Stefan Mauk’s availability:
“After the trip back from Wellington, they felt a little bit under the weather. So we’ve just kept them separate from the group. We can’t afford to take risks with illness going through the group.
They’ve missed today, but they will do their own session separate from the group. So we’re expecting them to be okay.”
Carl Veart on Adelaide United’s commitment to inclusivity:
“It’s very important. I think we’ve always said that it’s really important that we’re inclusive of everyone. It’s important that all of our supporters that come feel they’re part of the club and included. And that’s something that we’ve been pushing. I think we’re ahead of a lot of other clubs and other sporting organisations as well.”
Match details:
Isuzu Ute A-League Round 20
Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory
Saturday, 9 March 2024, Kick-off: 7:45pm ACDT
Coopers Stadium
