Newcastle Jets captain, Nikolai Topor-Stanley insists that their side has progressed on the field despite sitting seventh on the table.
The Jets, who were runners-up last season have only the won three games out of twelve games so far this season but Topor-Stanley who spoke to Evenings on FNR believes that the results just haven’t gone their way.
“In all honesty, I think we have actually been playing better,” Topor-Stanley said.
“In the big moments last year, we were doing better we were putting goals away and weren’t conceding,”
“But overall I think we have probably had an improvement this year but unfortunately just hasn’t shown in the results.”
The defender also went on to reiterate that the busy January schedule helps his side who need points if they are to close the gap between themselves and sixth placed Wellington.
“Games can’t come soon enough for us,” Topor-Stanley said.
“We need points even though we feel like we have been performing well the results haven’t followed,”
“But we are sticking together, we have got a good group, we are confident we can climb the leader board before the end of the season.”
Ahead of a Grand-Final rematch against the Melbourne Victory, the 33-year-old has the tall task of defending former Swedish international, Ola Toivonen who has scored seven goals so far this season.
However, he believes that despite Toivonen’s calibre as a forward, his focus is not on just shutting down the Swede but helping the side get an important three points.
“He [Toivonen] is certainly a good player and has certainly showed his quality and his class throughout the season so far,” Topor-Stanley said.
“I am going to focus on what I do and how I can help the team, it’s not just about one player.”
Newcastle will face the Victory on Saturday evening at AAMI Park.
