Melbourne City coach Aurelio Vidmar is wary of his in-form team taking a complacent attitude into Saturday’s battle against A-League also-rans Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium.
City has won three successive games to jump into the top-six as the club’s title defence finally gathers steam.
Another win on this weekend will guarantee Vidmar’s men a berth in next month’s finals series.
Considering the recent from of the second-last placed Roar, who haven’t tasted victory in three months, City should extend its winning streak to four matches.
However, Vidmar said Brisbane was a better team than the ladder suggested.
“Although they’re positioned lower in the table … it doesn’t reflect their performances,” the City mentor said on Friday.
“It’s going to be a fight, it’s going to be a scrap for sure, and we still have work to do.
“For us, it’s about not being complacent. That was the key message this week.
“We’ve had a really good run. Three wins on the bounce – it’s been excellent. The group’s reasonably healthy and happy, and the mentality is good, but we face a very difficult team at Suncorp (Stadium).”
City could be without playmaker Daniel Arzani, who Vidmar rated a “50-50” chance to play after injuring his hamstring in his team’s 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix last Sunday.
“He hasn’t done much this week,” Vidmar said of the Socceroo.
Another of City’s Socceroos, midfielder Ryan Teague, remains sidelined with a knee problem.
However, Socceroos stalwart Mathew Leckie is set to continue his return from hip surgery after coming on as a late substitute against Wellington in making his first appearance since October.
“We’re trying to get as many minutes as possible into ‘Lecks’. He’s been able to train again well this week,” Vidmar said.
“He’ll come away with us. We’re slowly building him up to what we can see as a starting position.
“If we can get him 20-plus minutes this week then we’re slowly progressing his game time, which is going to be important.”
The Michael Valkanis-coached Roar will be playing for pride in their final home match of the season.
“It’s going to be a perfect opportunity against a very good team to perform well and get the three points,” Valkanis said.
“Unfortunately things haven’t gone quite our way with results – a lot of draws (eight) instead of wins and hitting the back of the net to get those three points.
“It’s important now that we finish off well, and then take our time to review and assess what actually went wrong and what we can do right for the following season.”
