Melbourne Victory forward Andrew Nabbout believes it is time for the players to take responsibility ahead of the club’s biggest fortnight of the season.
The Victory will round off 2019 with meetings against Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City, with the side desperate for points after only picking up two wins in the first nine rounds.
While pressure has escalated on head coach Marco Kurz, Nabbout says the players have full faith his philosophy and are ready to repay their manager for shielding the players from scrutiny.
“He’s a really good manager, we’re all behind him and all behind his philosophy that hasn’t changed since day one,” Nabbout said.
“We’re all strong together and we all believe in what he believes in and he’s good at shielding [the players] in the media, but at the end of the day we have to take responsibility on the pitch.
“These two games are probably the most important for us in the season to get maximum points.
“We don’t have a game until January 5 after the derby, so if we can go in with two strong games and pick up maximum points, we’ll be somewhere near in the mid table and start 2020 with some confidence.”
Saturday will be just the third time Nabbout will line-up alongside Ola Toivonen and Robbie Kruse, with the trio being a significant part of the Victory team – while defender Tim Hoogland is yet to make his first start in Victory colours.
With Victory’s attack at full-strength, Nabbout believes there is no issue in the link between the side’s midfield and attack – pointing to the plethora of chances created at weekend as proof.
“It is no excuse, but it is the biggest turnaround Victory’s had in its history, so it takes a little while for that to gel,” he said.
“Talking to each-other and way we talk on the pitch and the way we were paying against Western United, there’s no indication there’s anything wrong with the link between the midfield and [attack].
“I see no problem with it, we’re strong as a group together and obviously results haven’t been going our way and that causes people to speculate, but for me there’s no issue.”
Featured Image: AAP
