Newcastle Jets head coach Phil Stubbins says the Jets have put last weekend’s performance against Brisbane Roar behind them as they look to make amends against Asian Champions Western Sydney Wanderers at Pirtek Stadium on Saturday night.
Stubbins said the Jets could not afford to dwell on Friday’s 4-0 loss to the defending Hyundai A-League Champions for too long, instead switching their focus immediately to Saturday’s clash with the Wanderers.
“It was a tough 90 minutes for the supporters and it was for us as well,” Stubbins said.
“There are very small margins now in the A-League and if you don’t get it right, you get punished.
“Credit to Brisbane Roar, they played a very good brand of football and we were second best on the night.
“We’ve put it behind us, because we have to keep moving forward.”
Stubbins said a good week on the training pitch was crucial for the Jets’ hopes of bouncing back against Western Sydney this weekend.
“We’ve got a big game coming up this week, that’s for sure,” Stubbins said.
“We’ve got to lift up the troops and go again. Being the guy that I am, I’ll be very positive about the way we approach training this week.
“Hopefully we’ll go into the game against Western Sydney Wanderers buoyed by what we’ve done on the training pitch and broaching things that we need to improve on and executing them in the game.
“We’ll certainly be looking for a fresher and more vibrant performance against the Wanderers.”
Despite the Wanderers’ being without a win from their opening three Hyunai A-League matches to start the season, Stubbins said he expected a difficult encounter against the newly crowned Champions of Asia.
“They’re the Asian Champions for a reason and that’s because they’ve got a lot of resolve,” Stubbins said.
“They’ve got a very strong squad and they’ll be up for the contest come the weekend and we’ve got a real challenge ahead of us.
Stubbins said it was important everyone at the Newcastle Jets, including himself, made themselves accountable for last weekend’s result in order for the Club to turn the corner on its 2014/15 Hyundai A-League campaign.
“We can’t keep patting ourselves on the back and saying that things are OK if they’re not,” Stubbins said.
“We need to bring some accountability to the table and myself is included in that as are the other staff and certainly the players.
“I’ve said it since I first came to the Club you need to know as a group what it costs to win.
“I think the Wanderers have shown that they’ve found the formula of knowing how to win in difficult situations and circumstances.
“The challenge is certainly on to the Newcastle Jets now. We’re not in a position ourselves or our supporters are happy with.
“I’ve got a lot of pride attached to what I’m trying to achieve as a coach and we certainly don’t want to be in the position that we are.”
