Brisbane Roar Head Coach John Aloisi has urged his players to play without fear in Friday night’s blockbuster clash with Liverpool FC as the English Premier League giants touched down in Brisbane today.
The former Socceroo is now just two days out from his first match in charge of the club and has made it clear what approach he’d like his players to take at Suncorp Stadium.
“I want them to enjoy it and play without fear,” Aloisi said.
“I want them to go out there and put on a performance that we’ve come to expect of Brisbane Roar.
“We’ve started practising stuff in the past two weeks, I want them to try and take that into the game.
“If there are mistakes, no problem, just play our game and play the way we want to play this season.”
Aloisi knows it won’t be easy against Brendan Rodgers’ side, who beat the Thai All Stars 4-0 in their first pre-season tour match in Bangkok last night.
Lazar Markovic, Mamadou Sakho, Adam Lallana and debutant Divock Origi were all on target at Rajamangala Stadium with the Liverpool boss opting to switch his entire starting side at the half-time break.
“They’re definitely not here for a holiday,” Aloisi said.
“Even in pre-season, when you’re at a big club like Liverpool, you’re judged and scrutinized on every performance especially in pre-season.
“They’ll be feeling that straight away and they won’t want a bad performance or a bad result.
“We expect a tough game and Liverpool are going to want to prove to the rest of the world that they’ll be strong this season.”
Goalkeeper Jamie Young, who spoke last week about his friendship with Rodgers from their time together at Reading FC, will play between the posts on Friday night but said he wasn’t daunted by the task in front of him.
“I think you should approach any game with the same respect, whether it’s someone from around the corner or whether it’s someone like Liverpool,” he said.
“Obviously it’s a big occasion but you have to remember that this is a game of football and nothing changes – there are two teams trying to get the ball into the net so it’s really important to focus on that.”
Liverpool FC will unveil their new 2015/16 New Balance away kit tomorrow in King George Square at 5pm, before an open training session at Suncorp Stadium. Tickets are still available here (link) with proceeds going to local charities and the Liverpool FC Foundation.
