John Aloisi says his charges will respond after two losses when they face in-form Melbourne Victory in Harvey Norman Friday Night Football.
Roar has lost their last two matches in the Hyundai A-League and have dropped to fourth on the Hyundai A-League ladder in a shaky start to 2017.
It’s not the kind of form that augurs well heading into a trip to AAMI Park to face a Victory side firing on all cylinders on the back of a five-game winning streak.
Hyundai A-League preview: Victory v Roar
But Aloisi isn’t concerned, believing their current situation will bring out his side’s best.
“The results the last two games haven’t gone our way but did we deserve to lose both games? No,” Aloisi said.
“We expect the boys to respond down in Melbourne. This is what Brisbane Roar love.
“No one expects us to win, ours back’s up against the wall and we want to go down there and put on a good performance and try and take it to Melbourne Victory and do it well.”
Aloisi added: “They’ve got really dangerous players going forward but we believe when we play at our best we can beat any team in the league, even when they are in form.
“Victory and Brisbane Roar always have exciting games, high tempo and I’m expecting the first 30 minutes [tonight] will be a tempo we haven’t played at for a while.”
Aloisi is off-contract at Roar at the end of the current season, currently in discussions with the club over a new deal.
He says he wants to stay in Brisbane long term, providing the off-field issues which have plagued the club in recent seasons can be resolved for good.
“I’ve always mentioned I want to stay at Brisbane Roar, there’s no doubt about that. Do I want to go through what we’ve been through the last two pre-seasons? No. They’re the discussions we’re having,” the 40-year-old said.
“I want to make sure the club is going to head in the right direction because I want to be a part of that, because it’s unfair for everyone involved if that’s going to be the case.
“I don’t want that to happen, for the players, for whoever works within the club and for the fans. I’m confident I’ll be staying here and I want to stay.”
Roar also have a host of their stars coming towards the end of their current deals, with plenty of speculation surrounding their futures now the January transfer window is open.
The likes of star striker Jamie Maclaren, key defender Luke DeVere and playmaker Dimitri Petratos are just some coming towards the end of their deals.
Asked if the contract talk has been a distraction, Aloisi said: “The older boys can handle it a little bit better, because they’ve been through it before. Younger boys, it’s new to them.
“But it’s part of learning, it’s part of improving as a player and gaining that experience so it doesn’t become a distraction in the future.
“Out here they focus on their football and focus on performing well. It’s easy to say when the results don’t go well that something’s a distraction, somethings not going right. I don’t look at that.”
