Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold believes the club is only performing at “65 per cent” and states his players believe they could be doing much better.
The Sky Blues are flying high on the A-League table, undefeated and two games clear of second-placed Melbourne City.
While the Sydney boss was pleased with the position the club was in, he felt there was unfinished business after falling at the final hurdle 1-0 to Melbourne City in the FFA Cup decider a fortnight ago.
Arnold said last week’s 1-1 draw to City was the best on-field performance of the season after Josh Brillante received a second booking for a challenge on Neil Kilkenny at the 73rd minute.
“I truly believe we’re only 65 per cent,” Arnold said.
“Last week with 10-men in the last 20 minutes we could over-power and over-dominate teams with our aggression, physicality and fitness levels.
“I built the team at the start of the season, a lot of it was about suffocating the opposition and pressing to make sure they couldn’t get down our end and Melbourne City last week didn’t have a shot on goal in the second half and we’ve done very well.
“When Matt Simon came on last week when we had 10-men, he kept that whole backline busy on his own and really took the pressure off us, the last 20 minutes they didn’t have a shot on goal… He did enough work for two or three players to get us a result.
“I’ve got a very hungry group of players in that dressing room, they’re not happy with where we’re at right now, they know they can do much better and that’s always a great sign.
“We’re still undefeated, doing well and the players know there’s a lot of improvement.”
Sydney retained the services of key midfielder Brandon O’Neill earlier in the week, keeping the 22-year-old at the club until the 2018/19 season.
The Sky Blues go up against O’Neill’s former club Perth Glory away on Saturday night.
With Brillante and Simon both suspended, Arnold welcomes back David Carney, Riley Woodcock and George Blackwood.
And with rumours Dutch Eredivisie club NAC Breda in talks with Arnold, the 53-year-old manager stated he was happy with life in his home city.
“You always get the phone calls… agents and other clubs but, for me it’s about being happy in my life and being happy in my job and I’m extremely happy here,” he said.
“My ambition, my main goal is to deliver a trophy to this club, it’s been a long time and that’s every day the purpose why we come to work, we drive the standards we drive, the passion and commitment I have to the job is for that.
“I made a statement when I came to this club two years ago that I wanted this club to become the Manchester United of the A-League and Australian football and I truly have seen in my time here the development and vision of the club.
“We’ve come a long way in that time, the facilities and also the building of the academy, to bring Australia’s best youth through and for me the vision is heading in the right direction.
“The thing which drives me most is the fear of failure, I’ve never been someone who’s accepted low standards or incompetency.
“I’ve made statements before and I stick by them, joy from developing Australian footballers and helping players with their careers and along the way when players are developing and doing well, you’re winning games and trophies - that’s the motivation and drive.”
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