Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi will await the outcome of tonight’s match between Wellington Phoenix FC and the Newcastle Jets before making an assessing the impact of the Nix’s coaching change.
Melbourne Heart FC Head Coach John Aloisi will await the outcome of tonight-s match between Wellington Phoenix FC and the Newcastle Jets before assessing the impact of the Nix-s recent coaching change.
Phoenix, who are rooted to the bottom of the Hyundai A-League table, face Gary van Egmond-s Jets this evening under interim coach Chris Greenacre for the first time, after the New Zealand side parted ways with head coach Ricki Herbert yesterday.
While Heart faces Wellington at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium this Sunday 3 March (kick-off 4.30pm local, 2.30pm AEST), Aloisi said that he would reserve his analysis of the Nix until he absorbed tonight’s match.
Asked whether he should be concerned about the coaching change breeding confidence in Wellington’s playing group, Aloisi said the Phoenix would be ready for the challenge.
“Newcastle should be concerned because they-ve got them tonight, and then they play us on Sunday,”
“Look, they-ve got a new coach; [so] they-re going to be up for it.
“It-s finals games for the sides around that area and it-s going to be no different for us on Sunday against Wellington.”
However, Aloisi believes that the scenario gives his side the opportunity to monitor any changes under Greenarce.
“It-s a positive for us, because we had it [the same scenario] against Sydney FC when Frank Farina first took charge; we didn-t really know the way they were going to play,” Aloisi said.
“So when the new coach comes in, you go into the game unaware of what they could do.
“But now that they-re going to play Newcastle, we can see if they do make any changes, that we can adjust to it.
“We know the way Wellington is going to play and the type of players they have and one thing they-re going to do is give us a tough game over there.”
Aloisi has acknowledged Heart’s away form requires drastic improvement and has labelled Sunday’s showdown as another big match.
“If you said last week [against Sydney FC] ‘was that it was the biggest game of the season’? Yes. This week? Yes. The following week? Yes. Because at the moment the next five games are going to be like cup games, they-re going to be like finals games,” Aloisi said.
