Melbourne City head coach Patrick Kisnorbo is set to return to the sidelines when the in-form Isuzu UTE A-League champions take on Adelaide United, eyeing their third consecutive win.
Kisnorbo missed City’s past two games through COVID-19, with assistant Petr Kratky taking the reins in a 4-2 win over Newcastle Jets and 3-1 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers.
“We are expecting PK to be out by tomorrow morning because it’s after seven days,” Kratky told reporters on Monday.
“So we will see for tomorrow but we’re expecting him to be back.”
Kratky expected the wider coaching City staff to benefit from the responsibility of stepping up and finding a way to win with their head coach on the sidelines.
“We learned so much about how everything’s going, how players behave, short turnarounds, travelling,” he said.
“So it was a great experience, but it’s really, really helpful when we are all on the same page.”
It was the first time City had won back-to-back fixtures all season, while Socceroos striker Mathew Leckie burst to life with three goals in two starts.
“He can go another level but he’s on the way there,” Kratky said.
“We know Lecks’ quality and he’s just proving it to us.
“(With) the hard work and (the attitude to) just keep going, keep going and and he does that and he’s just getting rewarded for it and the whole team now benefits from it.”
After two dramatic 2-2 draws against Adelaide, Kratky expected a similarly exciting clash at AAMI Park on Tuesday as City embrace their current packed schedule.
“It’s always exciting to play Adelaide actually,” he said.
“Because they’re one of the teams who try to press and they’re proactive, they just don’t sit and wait for counter attacks or set pieces but they’re also proactive on the way forward. We’re like that as well.”
