With he and his teammates set to clash with third-placed Perth Glory on Saturday night, City’s perilous mental state was once again on the agenda for Josh Brillante as he faced the press today.

As recently as New Year’s Eve the 26 year old had been interrogated on his side’s seemingly supernatural ability to fail to rise to the big occasions and just why the trend was able to linger at the club year after year after year.

Back then, with City coming off back-to-back defeats against local rivals Melbourne Victory and top-of-the-table Sydney FC, the midfielder had been reserved in his answers but, when pressed, admitted that there had been some mental lapses that needed to be fixed.

Encouragingly for City fans, the Bundoora-based club has sine gone on an unbeaten three game run, downing Western United 3-2, drawing 2-2 with Brisbane Roar and defeating Newcastle Jets 2-0.

“Mentality,” Brillante said when asked what had changed since New Year. “We’ve been working a lot on mentality. Obviously, there are tough stages in the game where you fatigue but you’ve got to find that extra bit of oomph to get up and keep battling.

“We definitely have the talent and players to perform and score goals, it’s the mentality that’s been lacking for us.”

On Saturday, however, this supposed newfound mental strength will be put to the test when third-placed Perth Glory pay their second visit of the season to AAMI Park.

Last time Tony Popovic’s side paid a visit to City, they left with a resounding 3-0 win and restarted discussions on City foibles.

“[It’s a] massive game,” said Brillante. “We like to take each week as a massive game and, obviously, it being second vs third makes it a bigger occasion.

“And these are the games that players need to step up in and show what they’re capable of.

“This is the difference between being one of the top teams in the league. On Saturday we have to come out firing, especially after the last home game against Perth.

“I think it’s more of a collective team thing, rather than individually.  

“I think that comes from training and being focused and being switched on every day. Telling yourself not to be lazy when you don’t want to run back an extra 20 meters to help the team. Those little things make a big difference on game day.

“[Perth] do have a great side and that just comes down to our mentality again. They have dangerous strikers, so we need to be on our toes in transition and defence. They also have a defensively structured team, so we need to find a way to break them down.