Adelaide United will face Central Coast Mariners tomorrow night, with Head Coach Carl Veart confident but mindful of the task at hand.
Veart addressed the media ahead of the match, discussing the Red’s good current form, recent performances, and the upcoming test against the Mariners. Here’s what Veart had to say:
On the team’s strong start to the season:
“We’re very happy with our performances to this day, but still a lot of work to go, a lot of improvement in the side to come as well. So, we’re happy so far, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Veart commented on Adelaide United’s best start to a season in 10 years.
On the improvement of the team and defensive partnerships:
“It takes time. You know, we’ve got two new centre backs playing together for the first time, and it just takes time to get that chemistry. And it’s just taken a little bit of time for Bart to settle into the A-League. I think we’ve seen great improvement from him every week, and last week the whole group showed the desperation we need, especially when we went down to 10 men.”
On the confidence gained from recent performances:
“It will give the whole team confidence. We’ve worked extremely hard on our defensive structures, and last week, with a man short, we saw that potentially we are heading in the right direction,” Veart said.
On team changes and player availability:
“We’ve been very fortunate to this date. We’ve got a lot of players that can come into the squad, so we’re in a good place at this moment in time,” Veart stated when asked about Ben Folami’s suspension and any other team issues.
On possible player rotations:
“Austin [Ayoubi] started the season really well, and I suppose the last couple of weeks he’s been on the bench. So, he’ll be nice and fresh, and he knows what to do when he comes into those positions.”
On the team’s resilience playing with 10 men:
“It was very difficult because the conditions in Newcastle were tough. But the playing group passed with flying colours, and as you said, they’ll take a lot of confidence from that.”
On facing Central Coast Mariners:
“We know it’s going to be a difficult game for us. They had a difficult start with a lot of injuries and travel due to the Asian Cup. But they’re getting their confidence back, and we know we need to be at our best to get the three points.”
On the importance of past records against Central Coast Mariners:
“We treat every game the same. We haven’t really looked at our past record. We know they’re a good side, and we have to get our game plan right.”
On expectations for the season:
“It’s always difficult. It takes at least a quarter of the season to play out before you really know where you’re at. We’re happy with how we’re tracking at the moment, but we have high expectations. We want to be playing in the finals. We missed out last year, so it’s important we get back there.”
On the challenges of this season’s schedule:
“All you can do is play the team you’re playing each week. At the end of the season, the draw evens itself out as you’ll have played everyone twice, and some teams three times. We’re just focused on the next game.”
