There may not have been a particular ‘line in the sand’ moment for Melbourne City, nor did the club necessarily look far to source inspiration to help turn its season around.
One of City’s most emphasised and glaring dilemmas following last season’s Grand Final defeat was an inability to realise its potential; weighed down by years of underperformance and, who can forget, the lingering ‘Heart’ stigma.
It comes as little surprise then that a deep dive into the Manchester City mentality, as showcased in the All or Nothing series on Amazon, gave the Melbourne-based club all the ”ingredients’’ to build towards its goal.
”I was watching the Man City documentary the other night and the biggest difference between them and some of the other clubs is they believe in what they’re doing and that they’re going to win games,’’ Melbourne City utility Rostyn Griffiths said.
”They’re not ashamed of that or even arrogant about it and I think that’s the key ingredient for us, we have to go in feeling there’s no one that can beat us. If we turn up and do everything right on the day I’m not sure there’s any team that could keep with us.
”The last three games we’ve been building towards that and there’s a hunger and desire from everyone.’’
This shift in attitude has certainly galvinised the side into form.
Three comprehensive wins – including a historic six-goal derby drubbing – which saw City score 11 goals and only concede the two: the perfect response after four straight defeats.
The next few weeks will be telling for City, who meet the league’s current top-two in Macarthur and Central Coast at home in its next two matches.
Friday night will be the first-ever meeting between City and Macarthur, with Griffiths expecting an ‘’interesting’’ battle.
”They like to pass it around the back a little more whereas we’re a little more direct and use our pace down the flanks. For me in my spot it’s more about organising our press which is something I feel we’ve done particularly well over the last three weeks. Perhaps over the last few games it’s why we’ve been scoring goals because we’ve been winning the ball higher up the pitch and forcing them into mistakes.” Griffiths said.
