New Brisbane Roar Head Coach Mike Mulvey is committed to bring the club back to winning ways with the style they have become known for, starting with tomorrow night’s match against Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium.
New Brisbane Roar Head Coach Mike Mulvey is committed to bring the club back to winning ways with the style they have become known for, starting with tomorrow night-s match against Perth Glory at Suncorp Stadium.
The match marks the first time the Roar have hosted the Glory since last season-s epic Hyundai A-League Grand Final, evoking plenty of memories for those involved in both clubs, but Mulvey only sees the game as a set of three points.
“It-s just another game, that-s in the history books, in a very positive part of Brisbane Roar-s history but tomorrow night is about us finding our mojo again,” Mulvey said.
“It-s been full on [since I-ve been here] but it-s been fantastic.
“I-ve really enjoyed it and I am thoroughly looking forward to tomorrow night.”
After observing yesterday-s training session run by assistant coaches Ken Stead and Jeff Hopkins, Mulvey took this morning-s familiarisation session at Suncorp Stadium.
Even with the short time he-s had to work with, the Manchester-born coach hasn-t wasted any time imparting his knowledge and ideas for Brisbane-s game plan against the fifth-placed team on the ladder.
“We just looked on a couple of things that we might try and implement tomorrow night,” Mulvey said.
“You don-t want to come in and start making a great number of changes because this team knows how to play football, there-s no question about that.
“There-s some quality players here so I just mentioned a couple of things we may look at tomorrow night.
“At the end of the day, if we can implement them, it should be a very positive performance from us.”
But, Mulvey was careful not to change too much, given the strong football culture already evident at the Brisbane club.
“The team has a very clear identity and the club has a very clear identity,” he said.
“The philosophy is very clear, the fans expect a certain panache, a certain style, and I fully support that so I-ll be trying to deliver on that.”
Club captain Matt Smith said the playing group was solely focused on tomorrow-s match despite the week-s events.
“From a player-s perspective, we-re extremely focused,” he said.
“I haven-t hidden over the last couple of weeks that I think these coming games are the most important of our season and for the playing group, it-s all about focusing on that.”
Friday, December 21
Brisbane Roar v Perth Glory
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Kick off: 8:00PM
Referee: Peter Green
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 1HD and Sky Sports 3.
ABC Radio Coverage – Grandstand Digital and Online
Brisbane Roar squad: 1. Michael Theo (GK), 2. Matt Smith (capt), 3. Shane Stefanutto, 4. Matt Jurman, 5. Ivan Franjic, 6. Erik Paartalu, 7. Besart Berisha, 8. Massimo Murdocca, 10. Henrique, 11. Ben Halloran, 13. Yuji Takahashi, 15. James Donachie, 17. Mitch Nichols, 19. Jack Hingert, 20. Matt Acton (GK), 21. James Meyer, 22. Thomas Broich, 24. Nick Fitzgerald. *three to be omitted*
Ins: Nick Fitzgerald (promoted), James Donachie (returns from injury), James Meyer (promoted)
Outs: Do Dong-Hyun (knee – 2-3 weeks)
Unavailable: Nil
Perth Glory squad: 1.Danny Vukovic (gk), 3.Bas van den Brink, 4.Billy Mehmet, 6.Nick Ward, 7.Jacob Burns (c), 8.Dean Heffernan 9.Shane Smeltz, 10.Liam Miller, 12.Ryo Nagai, 13.Travis Dodd, 14.Steven McGarry, 17.Chris Harold, 19.Josh Risdon, 21.Scott Jamieson, 23.Michael Thwaite, 30 Lewis Italiano (gk) *one to be omitted*
Ins: 12.Ryo Nagai (returns from injury)
Outs: Nil
Unavailable: Evan Berger (hamstring – indefinite)
