Melbourne City Head Coach, Aurelio Vidmar, spoke to the media ahead of City’s clash with Perth Glory at AAMI Park on Saturday.
Vidmar spoke on the importance of having Max Caputo and Mathew Leckie back in the team, and previewed a new look Perth Glory.
Read his pre-match thoughts below…
MAX IS BACK
“Yeah, he did [slot into the team nicely]. It’s a little bit different when you’re 19 years old and you’re young. He recovered pretty well. He’s really fit and a strong boy anyway, and I was actually surprised that he actually played, so many minutes.
“It was his first game since his injury. He had a few minutes in the NPL two weeks leading into that game, so, he wasn’t totally match sharp, but he showed a lot in terms of being able to hold the ball and link with his teammates and get himself in and around the box where he’s dangerous. I think he’s pulled up really well and he will just need a few more weeks to gradually build on that match fitness and sharpness.”
A SOCCEROO KEEPS BUILDING
“We’re managing him in a different way than we have had in the past. He’s feeling good going into the games.
“Again, he’s had a pretty decent week, and we look after him towards the end of the week. He’s looking well, he’s an important player for us, we all know that and it makes a big difference when he’s in the team. I think, we gave him 60 minutes last week again trying to increase his minutes again for the game tomorrow, but he’s looking good.”
HOME SWEET HOME
“I think most teams feel comfortable when they’re playing at home. You know, the travel is always difficult and we’ve had three pretty tough games away to Auckland, away to Macarthur, and away to Adelaide.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pick up any points in that period. So now we don’t have a lot of games, I think three games away from home for the rest of the season, Sydney, Western Sydney, and Wellington, so we got a hell of a lot of games here in Melbourne at AAMI Park and that gives us a little bit more stability going into the back end of the season.”
PREVIEWING PERTH
“Well, one thing is for sure, they’ve probably changed half a team, they’ve made a lot of changes. Not just in this window, but, over the last couple of months… half the team is different to when we played them last time in Perth. So it’s going to be a completely different game.
“They’re playing more to the style and to the behaviours that they want, that they originally started with… you can see that over the last couple of weeks with the results and the performances, so, it’s definitely going to be a different game for us, but, one that, we have to be ready for. We’re playing at home and, we haven’t won for three weeks, so, we need to put ourselves in a position where we can control the game and control those moments.”
