Tony Popovic happy to see team motivation

Football Update – Tony Popovic believes Western Sydney will see their conviction lead to success against Melbourne Victory tomorrow night. 

The Wanderers recorded their first win in seven outings with a 4-1 crushing of Central Coast last weekend, easing the tensions that had been growing among the club and fans.

The coach was happy to see his players finally see some return for their efforts, but still insists there was never a lack of belief in the game plan.

“I don’t think confidence was ever an issue…we were playing very well prior to the Central Coast game, including the Central Coast game,” said Popovic to the media.

“But we actually got some reward, we put away some opportunities at crucial times in games which we haven’t managed to do previously.”

Popovic’s men will look to take that momentum into Saturday night’s clash with Melbourne Victory when they return to Spotless Stadium.

A 3-0 defeat against the Victory to start the season still haunts the Wanderers, although not for the reasons everyone would expect.

“It plays on our mind because of how good we were,” said Popovic.

“We refer to that game of how positive we were as a team, it’s a new group and we already showed some fantastic signs away from home.

“The negative is we lost 3-0 and we have to turn that around, but without our performance improving on that last one that won’t be possible.

“We understand the challenge ahead, but we also go into it with the belief that we’re good enough to win.

Inspiring the Wanderers to the win over Central Coast was Nico Martinez, who has been vital among an underwhelming squad for several weeks. Popovic says that his Argentine import will be even better in the New Year though.

“He’s just just starting to hit his straps now,” he added.

“We can see he’s a talent, we knew he was before he arrived here.

“It’s taken a bit of time to get him up to speed, but we accept that and we expect a big second half of the season from him.

Category: Football