Valeri missed the last Monday night’s 6-1 thumping over Wellington Phoenix due to a hamstring injury and stayed home when Victory travelled to Sydney to meet the Sky Blues in the 2-1 loss on Saturday.

The 32-year-old had a frustrating season 2015/16 with a brain inflammation which kept him out for the majority of the last campaign.

And while his recent omission in the team was nowhere near as tumultuous as last season, Valeri was staying positive after witnessing his team lose in the Big Blue.

“Exactly (last season’s injury), you break it down like that, you look at what’s really serious and what’s not,” Valeri said.

“It was hard though, watching the boys, against Wellington was a different story, but on the weekend against Sydney seeing such a great first half performance and not be rewarded with the three points is frustrating.

“We created a lot of chances and I think we played really well and it’s a good stepping stone.

“I’ve just got to take it easy and be careful. Ended up missing an extra week, but I’ll benefit in the long run.”

The Wanderers sit sixth one place below Victory on six points with the Victory skipper in no doubt his team’s performances were acceptable excluding the Round Two 4-1 loss to crosstown rival Melbourne City.

And he refused to play the “victim” card.

“To be truly successful I think if you cling to luck and play the victim you’re never going to be successful,” he said.

“The only way we’re going to get out of it is by sticking together by working hard and creating those chances.

“We know that and I’ve got an experienced bunch of boys and the young boys who are coming through are fantastic leaders too, they know that.

“The important things is not to say ‘it’s always us, it’s always us’, that’s not true. It happens and we’ve got to move forward.”

And with the Sky Blues maintaining its perfect record so far this season, Valeri was surprised about the dominance.

“I think it’s been a very exciting start to the season, to see Sydney out there in front, I didn’t expect that and they’re doing fantastic,” Valeri conceded.

“I think it’s been a great start to the season and for Victory I think we’ve learnt a few harsh lessons at the start of the season, our performances have been fairly good apart from one and that’s something we as a team really focus on.

“We still have to build on it, I feel we have lapses in a game where we could cut them out or make them shorter because that’s going to happen, we could really improve.”