WORKING in December is hard because I suffer from festive fever.

Every year I endure symptoms like Xmas party misbehaviour; Kris Kringle stress; and fear of another lame New Year's.

Other common symptoms include blurred vision (during Xmas party); loss of short term memory (post Xmas party); sharp stabbing pain (opening unwanted gifts); loss of concentration at work (planning festive activities); and fatigue (busy social calendar).

Maybe some of these holiday distractions are unsettling Victory too.

The first signs of festive fever struck in Wellington.

Everything appeared to be going to plan when Danny nodded home the opener. In a flash, Phoenix hit back through Tim Brown. Michael Theoklitos definitely should have done better. Maybe Theo was thinking about what to get Ernie in the Victory Kris Kringle (ten dollars just isn’t enough to buy anything decent these days).

The festive fever took a turn for the worse against Perth.

Archie was ruled out with a knock. Then, Eugene Dadi dominated the first half with Michael Thwaite having a shocker. Michael looked preoccupied – almost as if he was thinking about the bargains at the Boxing Day sales.

Kevin also got fired up when the referee tried to give him a Xmas hug. For a moment, I thought he'd succumbed to Xmas rage but then I remembered Kevin’s middle name is Chuck Norris.

Then there's Ernie. I reckon he was definitely suffering the effects from the staff Xmas party because some of his substitutions (timing and personnel) were baffling.

It's actually really difficult to make excuses for the boys because we’ve been poor. If you want to be the top team in the land you have to beat those teams propping up the table.

With only five points separating second (Melbourne) from sixth (Wellington), we’re now under a bit of pressure. Drop our next game and we could be on the edge of the top four.

However, I don't believe its all doom and gloom. We have a rest next weekend and I reckon it’s just the tonic we need.

It will allow Archie and others to recover from any niggling injuries and the opportunity to train the house down. Let’s hope Carlos is fit to start because he looked dangerous in his cameo on Saturday. The boys will be hungrier too, having to wait thirteen days to make amends for some poor performances.

Newcastle away is a tricky fixture, especially when you consider our recent form against cellar dwellers. They beat us last time around and will receive a boost with Joel Griffiths returning. The Sydney match will be testing too. It’s still too painful to think about the last time we met. Disturbingly, they’re also starting to show some ticker.

In the New Year, four of our last five games are at Telstra Dome. On some level this is reassuring but given the streaky form of all teams, I don’t think we can count on our home record.

So what’s the cure for festive fever? Well, a couple of wins in December would be nice.

Tristram is a Victory fan and wishes he could say that a knee injury curtailed his promising football career.