Brockie has revealed the first he and other team-mates knew about the sudden shift in playing style was when it hit the news.

Morgan made headlines with his call for an entertaining possession-based game to draw crowds to Westpac Stadium.

But the rugged outfit – better known for its strong defence rather than free-flowing attack – has struggled to come to grips with the mid-season about face.

Brockie said scrapping the old game plan came out of the blue and it was left to coach Ricki Herbert to fill in the gaps.

“The first we heard anything about it was reading an article,” the soon to be first-time father said.

“One of the owners came out and said he’d like us to play a bit more possession-based and prettier football.

“Obviously once that came out Ricki sat us down and talked with us.”

The 25-year-old has no doubts it’s the way of the future – pointing to the success of A-League outfits Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar.

But he says the players have struggled to deliver on Morgan’s vision and Sunday’s 2-0 home loss to Western Sydney Wanderers rammed home the problems.

After a dominant first 45, during which they failed to capitalise on several good chances, Phoenix were over-run by the visitors in the second half.

The following day Brockie tweeted: “Looking forward to getting back into training tomorrow, big game on the weekend! Haven't touched the ball since half time yesterday haha.”

Phoenix’s new owners are proving very hands on and Morgan raised eyebrows when he was seen taking notes at a recent training session.

But in the bid to play pretty football the results have been anything but. Last weekend’s result saw the club drop to the bottom of the A-League table.

A massive clash of the cellar-dwellers on Saturday will see Phoenix face Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on the back of a three-game losing streak.

Just three points off the top six, Brockie says the team still has plenty to play but can’t afford slavish devotion to the new system.

“The majority of the time if you’ve got the ball you’re going to win games,” he said. “But sometimes it’s hard to transition halfway through a season.

“But we’ll get there and it’s important for us to start getting some results whether we’re playing possession-based or route one at the moment.

“As a team we’ve been conceding some pretty soft goal whereas Phoenix previously have always been pretty hard to break down.

“Obviously with the new style of football we’re trying to play a bit more possession-based and keep the ball rather than the old style of going long.

“But sometimes in games we need to realise we can’t always play that football and if we do need to go long at times to mix things up then we need to be able to do that.”

Despite the Phoenix’s woes, Brockie has enjoyed some good form and currently sits joint second in the Golden Boot chase with 10 goals to his name.

But he says the team needs to take their chances and a dose of luck wouldn’t go astray either. A win on the weekend and Phoenix could be back in the thick of it.

“The confidence drops pretty quickly when you’re in a bad patch but your luck can change,” the All White said.

“If we go to Sydney and get an early goal the confidence will quickly come back to the boys.”

Meanwhile new signing Ian Hogg may get his first run for Phoenix following the official opening of the transfer window.

The defender was released by Portland Timbers in November just three months into his contract with the MLS outfit and hasn’t played a game since September.

Even so, he is expected to provide stiff competition for incumbent left back Tony Lochhead who has had an indifferent season.

The club will run the rule over the 23-year-old in a match today to see how he pulls up but Brockie has no doubt he’ll be a welcome addition to the squad.

“I know Hoggy from U20 and U23 stuff and I was there when he scored his goal on debut for the All Whites,” he said.

“He’s an aggressive left back. He’s only little but he loves the tackle. Obviously it’s good for him to come into the squad.

“That’s what you want – depth in your squad to be able to battle with someone for a place in the starting line-up.”