Jacob Burns says Perth Glory’s ability to comfortably beat Adelaide United despite playing below their best shows they’ve come far enough to make a top two spot a realistic aim.
Jacob Burns says Perth Glory’s ability to comfortably beat Adelaide United despite playing below their best shows they’ve come far enough to make a top two spot a realistic aim.
Perth’s 3-0 triumph, which came thanks to goals from Shane Smeltz, Steven McGarry and Liam Miller, extended their unbeaten run to seven games and saw them move within two points of second-placed Wellington.
Glory’s run home is also advantageous, with five of their eight games at nib Stadium and two of them against bottom side Gold Coast.
While insisting the players weren’t getting ahead of themselves, Burns said the club’s rise from struggling to stay off the bottom two months ago to pushing for a home final had given them plenty of optimism.
“We’ve always set our targets high and we’re in a position to really push in,” the captain said.
“We’re a point off third and two off second so we really want to get into the top two now.”
Although Perth’s performance at Hindmarsh Stadium was below the standards Ian Ferguson’s men had set in recent weeks, Burns said they could take positives out of that.
“It tells you we’ve got tremendous character in the team,” he said.
“When things aren’t going right and your back against the wall you’ve got to have character to stand up and I think we’ve proven that. Good teams when they’re not playing well still get results.”
“The ball has been flying into the back of the net recently, we’ve scored seven goals in the past two games against quality opposition, and it’s just fantastic. The lads have been showing what we want to do all season.”
But the news isn’t all positive for the Glory, with Evan Berger and Steven McGarry picking up hamstring and quad injuries respectively against Adelaide.
Both have played crucial roles in recent weeks, with Berger excelling on the left wing in the past two matches and McGarry being revitalised by his attacking midfield role.
Burns said the club was still awaiting confirmation on the extent of the injuries but said it would be a blow to lose either of them.
“I’m devastated for Bergs, he’s had a terrible run with his hamstring,” he said
“Just from him personally, he thinks it’s a little bit better than the last time he did it so that should be positive.”
