Newcastle Jets coach Mark Jones has called on his squad’s imports to follow Morten Nordstrand’s lead and “stand up” for the top six contenders.
Nordstrand, who scored a stoppage time winner against Adelaide United last round, again came off the bench to impressive effect in helping Newcastle turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-2 draw against Wellington Phoenix on Monday.
“At the moment we want a little bit more from them,” Jones said of his squad’s foreign players.
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“Injuries and whatnot have maybe slowed them down a little bit but everyone is coming back to full fitness and I expect more from them.
“(Morten) was good. You could see when he carried the ball he could outrun people, he created things, he was very direct and a magnificent cutback for the goal.
“The big players stand up in big games and that’s what you have your visa players in your squad for.
“It’s about them earning their spot and (Morten) did more than enough to earn his spot to start (next week) against Victory.”
Jones criticised his side’s “sloppy” defending in the Boxing Day clash but believes the hosts had more than enough chances to claim what would have been a third straight victory.
“We definitely deserved to win that game. I thought we had all the run of the play,” he said.
“If it ended up 5-2 or 6-2 I think that would have been a fair reflection of the game.”
