The Brisbane Roar will be playing for pride and a positive end to a ‘disaster’ season when they take on the Perth Glory at ME Bank Stadium on Saturday in the final round of the regular season.
After a disappointing loss 2-0 to Adelaide United last weekend, the Roar are no longer in the running for a place in the A-league finals series, but coach Ange Postecoglou insists his side will be fighting for a win.
“It’s still a game of football and the season hasn’t finished. You’ve got four months off after (Saturday) and you don’t want to leave with a bitter taste.”
“It’s been a disappointing season and you don’t want to compound that by not performing well in the last game.”
“From our point of view we want to have a good crack and finish the season on a positive,” said Postecoglou.
In the absence of the suspended Matt McKay, Brisbane will be skippered by tireless midfielder Massimo Murdocca, who will be hoping to lead by example and round out a tough season on a better note.
“It’s been up and down, we’ve had a tough year from the start with injuries and then boys leaving towards the end, which wasn’t ideal for our preparations trying to make the top six.”
“It’s all about pride and I think the boys are professional enough to go out and try to get a result – why else would you play the game?”
“You go out there to win and it doesn’t matter what it’s for; whether it’s for points or pride you have to go out there and try to win the game.”
Though Murdocca seemed surprised by the appointment, claiming to be ‘more of a joker than a leader’, Postecoglou had plenty of praise for his diminutive workhorse.
“He’s a fantastic character, a very good player, he’s infectious with the way he plays the game and the way he is around the dressing room,” said Postecoglou, “I’m happy to give him the captain’s armband and I think he’ll do a good job.”
Postecoglou, who took the reigns mid-season after the axing of Frank Farina, was frank about his side’s disappointing season, but is clearly expecting better in 2010/11 as he continues to reshape the Brisbane squad.
“The reality of it is we’ve struggled through the whole season. We didn’t make finals and we don’t deserve to be there.”
“We’ve started changing things and I’m going to build the team that I want here and that’s what I’m doing. If the responsibility for missing the finals lies with me I’m comfortable with that.”
“There will be a major turn over in the squad and we’ve known that for a while. We’re well underway with planning for next year.”
“What I’m looking for is a team that’s going to represent Brisbane and take us to the next level.”
“As I’ve said from day one – I haven’t broken up a championship winning team, that’s what I want to build here,” Postecoglou said.
Despite a number of highly-publicised criticisms from former stars, including Liam Reddy, Craig Moore and Danny Tiatto, it appears Postecoglou will continue to rebuild with the support of the players who remain.
“Overall it’s been a bit of a disaster, but we’re still here, we’re still fighting and I think we’ve got a lot of personality in this club to fight back next year and go for it again.”
“He (Postecoglou) knows what he wants and he’s stamped his authority already. He’s definitely the kind of man we need at the club,” said Murdocca.
