Wellington Phoenix midfielder Chloe Knott says the player group have 100% faith in coach Natalie Lawrence as the club attempt to climb off the bottom of the Liberty A-League ladder.
Lawrence was an assistant last season when the club claimed the A-League Women wooden spoon and she took over as head coach in September after Gemma Lewis left for an offer in Wales.
The Phoenix have opened their 2022-23 campaign with three straight defeats.
The 4-1 losses to Melbourne City and Western United raised alarm bells, but there was vast improvement in last week’s 1-0 loss to defending champions Melbourne Victory.
Knott feels the tide is starting to turn and is hopeful of a positive result in Saturday’s clash with Canberra in Canberra.
“(We) 100% trust the vision that Nat has for the team and I totally buy into it,” Knott said.
“When we keep playing together and we get more comfortable with each other, I feel like it’s all going to click at some point.
“We’ll get to a point where we get to a game and we’ll score an amazing 30-pass team goal.
“If we get to do that it will be amazing – 100% trust in what Nat is doing.”
Knott led the Phoenix for the first time last week in the absence of skipper Lily Alfeld and vice-captain Kate Taylor and she may be required to wear the arm band again this Saturday.
The Phoenix played in intense heat against the Victory last week but the forecast maximum for Canberra on Saturday is a much cooler 23 degrees.
“It was tough for a lot of the girls (last week). But we’re going to have those situations again,” Knott said.
Canberra have opened their season with draws against Perth and Brisbane and they’ll also be aiming to post their first win when they meet the last-placed Phoenix.
