Melbourne City FC fullback Jason Hoffman says his side can turn their early season struggles around starting with Sunday’s trip to Wellington to take on the much-improved Phoenix.
With just one win in the opening seven rounds City are sitting precariously in sixth position but Hoffman is adamant the team are not far away from hitting their straps.
“I believe that the team doesn’t necessarily need to work harder, but work a lot smarter and I believe the results will turn around for us,” Hoffman said.
“We feel as a group, we haven’t played anywhere near what we should [have] and one win from seven is unacceptable.
“[We are] trying to make the wrong things right and we’re probably not far off, but not far off is not good enough.”
John van’t Schip’s side have showed promising signs in the opening seven rounds but have failed to turn positive performances into results.
“The best way for the Club to turn things around is to look forward,” Hoffman said.
“I think there is still a lot we can improve on which is a good thing. If I felt like we’ve hit our peak and we still weren’t getting results, then I’d be extremely worried.
“But when there’s more room for improvement and there are players still to come back into the squad.”
Phoenix sit three points above City in fifth and Hoffman said a win over Ernie Merrick’s side could help kick-start their season.
“This weekend is a huge opportunity for us,” Hoffman said.
“If a good result goes our way this week, we can bridge that gap to Wellington and it’ll leave us in touch with that top four.
“It started our run [last season] when we had that great win in Wellington and it gives us confidence for this week.”
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