AS Phoenix fans sang out 'Can We Play You Every Week?', Sydney coach Branko Culina admitted he questioned what else the team can do to win their games.
"We all have to have a good look at ourselves, including myself, and say what can we do better? What can we be doing that we’re not doing at the moment?" he revealed.
With his rivals taunts still ringing in his ears, the words must have hurt the Sydney FC boss and the home supporters drifting away from the ground.
But words don’t interest Culina, it is actions that interest him and he is expecting his players to walk the walk not talk the talk.
Clearly propping up the Hyundai A-League after four rounds was not part of the plan and the coach made the point that the current scenario is ‘unacceptable’.
The post-mortem will no doubt take place on the training ground this week while supporters may well question whether the attitude is right among an underperforming team.
And Culina insisted: “Attitude is about action, not words.”
The Sydney FC boss believes he has the players capable of doing much, much better and he expects every individual to take a good hard look at themselves before the round six trip to Queensland Roar.
Shot-shy Sydney paid the price for failing to take control against the Phoenix following the boost of an early goal from Adam Casey.
Culina said: “A couple of us got up off the bench after we scored and said ‘Hey guys, the next five minutes, just control the game. But we didn’t.”
Still, they say you find out more about yourself in adversity than good times and Culina hopes his troops will find the strength to push forward.
He said: “It’s not about making excuses it’s about being prepared to ride hard times so you can enjoy the good times. It’s character building.
"It’s not about pointing fingers. Good teams are the ones that fight to the bitter end. We are not doing that at the moment so therefore we’re not a good team at the moment.”
A lot has been made of Juninho’s absence in the last couple of games and while Culina will be anxious to welcome the Brazilian back into his squad for the trip to Queensland Roar, the message from the boss is that one man doesn’t make a team.
Culina said: “Juninho is not the be all and end all of this team. If he is then we’re in strife.”
With his rivals taunts still ringing in his ears, the words must have hurt the Sydney FC boss and the home supporters drifting away from the ground.
But words don’t interest Culina, it is actions that interest him and he is expecting his players to walk the walk not talk the talk.
Clearly propping up the Hyundai A-League after four rounds was not part of the plan and the coach made the point that the current scenario is ‘unacceptable’.
The post-mortem will no doubt take place on the training ground this week while supporters may well question whether the attitude is right among an underperforming team.
And Culina insisted: “Attitude is about action, not words.”
The Sydney FC boss believes he has the players capable of doing much, much better and he expects every individual to take a good hard look at themselves before the round six trip to Queensland Roar.
Shot-shy Sydney paid the price for failing to take control against the Phoenix following the boost of an early goal from Adam Casey.
Culina said: “A couple of us got up off the bench after we scored and said ‘Hey guys, the next five minutes, just control the game. But we didn’t.”
Still, they say you find out more about yourself in adversity than good times and Culina hopes his troops will find the strength to push forward.
He said: “It’s not about making excuses it’s about being prepared to ride hard times so you can enjoy the good times. It’s character building.
"It’s not about pointing fingers. Good teams are the ones that fight to the bitter end. We are not doing that at the moment so therefore we’re not a good team at the moment.”
A lot has been made of Juninho’s absence in the last couple of games and while Culina will be anxious to welcome the Brazilian back into his squad for the trip to Queensland Roar, the message from the boss is that one man doesn’t make a team.
Culina said: “Juninho is not the be all and end all of this team. If he is then we’re in strife.”
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