A determined Adelaide United is keen to show it’s no longer ‘mentally fragile’ with a positive result against Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium on Friday.
Coach Aurelio Vidmar questioned the team’s mental approach after its lucky 3-3 draw with North Queensland left it in ninth position after four rounds of the Hyundai A-League season.
The ‘mentally fragile’ tag hasn’t sat comfortably with United’s line-up but midfielder Paul Reid said the players were ready to respond.
“To be in this position we’ve got to bounce back and we’ve got to be mentally strong. Obviously you’ve got to be physically strong but in this day and age, a lot of football it’s the mental side of things,” Reid said.
“We haven’t spoken about it but I know every player has it in the back of their mind and we are looking to put things right this week.”
“It’s only early days, it’s only four rounds in but we can’t keep playing the way we have been.”
The Reds have never lost to Phoenix but Reid expects them to offer stiff opposition in just their second game in Wellington this season.
“They are always going to be tough at their home. It is a hostile environment there. The pitch is always a bit boggy and not many teams are used to that so the conditions aren’t great,” Reid said.
“But as footballers we’ve got to perform to the best of our capabilities.”
Vidmar said his side would take a more disciplined mindset into the clash but admitted his ‘mentally fragile’ criticism needed clarification.
“I said that in terms of the way we were giving away our goals, it tells us that people are not thinking. There were times when the midfielders were not tracking their man so just real simple things and all things that can be fixed,” Vidmar said.
“We showed them on the (match) DVD, they are aware of it so the next step is to actually go out there and execute it.”
“We just need to tighten up in that area.”
Vidmar said he expected Wellington to attack from the kick-off.
“With every game at home you want to try and get on the front foot and I don’t think they’ll be any different,” he said.
“Probably at this point we’ll probably be happy to settle for a draw but we are still going out there with the same mentality that we’ve had since day dot which is going there and trying to win.”
