Embattled Victory coach Arthur Diles maintains he’s not feeling the pressure to save his job with a win on Saturday night against an Adelaide United team that believes the Melbourne club is better that its cellar dweller status suggests.
Diles’ year-long tenure could come to an end after the “Original Rivalry” battle at AAMI Park, even if Victory win for the first since beating Perth Glory 2-0 on October 31.
Since then, Diles’ men has picked up just one point from a possible 12 and haven’t scored in four successive games to be sitting bottom of the A-League ladder.
It’s a run of poor form that is unacceptable for a club of Victory’s stature.
However, Diles insisted that the burden of his team’s horror run wasn’t weighing him down.
“My focus is my job, first and foremost, followed by my family,” he said.
“Everything else for me is just water off a duck’s back. I turn up to work every day with my staff.
“We work extremely hard to make sure we do what we’ve got to do, to prepare our players for every match.
“The end result’s not there at the moment, but it’s not far away either.”
Adelaide coach Airton Andrioli, whose own side is also desperate for a win after back-to-back losses, felt Victory, and Diles, had been written off far too early.
“It’s really interesting because we tend to put people at the top very quickly for no reason, and then sometimes we pull the carpet from underneath them very quickly when things are not going well,” Andrioli said.
“We need to do more of a thorough assessment of what the situation is.
“I think they have been playing well lately. I don’t see a team that’s giving up on their aspirations. We’re under no illusions. It’s going to be a very tough game.
“Yeah, they are in their situation but it’s a long season. Everyone in this league, until the end, because we pay finals, with six spots to grab, has got a chance.”
The Victory’s hopes of ending their goal drought should be helped by the inclusion of Socceroos forward Nishan Velupillay in the starting side after two appearances off the bench in his long-awaited return from injury.
Much maligned Greek striker Nikos Vergos is also set to start after playing second fiddle to Jing Reec in recent weeks.
“It’s a perfect game to get back on that horse,” Diles said.
“It’s a massive game, one that we’re back at home (for) and really looking forward to. There’s no better occasion to turn things around.”
Andrioli agreed, saying “everyone knows the importance of the match for both clubs and supporters”.
“You don’t need to motivate players for this one,” the Brazilian mentor said.
Former Victory winger Ben Folami could make his first appearance of the season for Adelaide, having previously been out of favour.
“Ben is part of the squad. He’s been very good in training. We try to reward players who work hard, even when circumstances haven’t gone their way.,” Andrioli said.
