Despite coming away with a point following a 0-0 draw with Wellington Phoenix – 30 minutes of which was spent with a one-man disadvantage following Kristijan Dobras’s red card – Saturday evening was not a good one for Victory.

Though it’s all too easy to write coaches' tenures off – especially in a competition such as the A-League where there is no relegation and sides can still finish sixth and win the title – it’s fair to say that the coming Christmas Derby looms as a potential D-Day for Kurz.

For Victory, a club that has cultivated an image of sustained success and dominance, a loss to high-flying cross-town foes Melbourne City while they continue to languish near the foot of the table would be untenable.

And with both a bye week and the transfer window opening in the days after, it would serve as perhaps the most painless time to make a change in the dugout.

“Look… I understand the question, but I cannot answer it,” a stoic Kurz said when asked about his tenure. “I’m not the person who is in the position to speak about the coach.

“What I can say is that I have full energy, I’m working hard to find the turnaround so get results for the fantastic club. What can I say but the decision making, it’s not in my… I’m not the person.

“What I can say is that we believe that we will work hard during the week to be ready. We know [the Christmas Derby] is a big game. It’s not only three points but with a good result we can find ourselves back in a good way and that’s our clear goal.

“We are hungry for the game.”

In a spiteful contest in which 10 yellow cards were handed out by referee Stephen Lucas, Victory struggled to move the ball from defence to attack time and time again against Phoenix.