Ruben Zadkovich believes the Jets need to take their effort levels up a notch ahead Sunday’s clash with Wellington Phoenix.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets captain Ruben Zadkovich believes the Jets need to take their effort levels up a notch ahead of a difficult road trip across the Tasman to face Wellington Phoenix in Napier on Sunday.
After playing out a 0-0 draw with Perth Glory in their opening home game last weekend, Zadkovich said the Jets needed to put in a more committed display against Wellington in order to secure a more favourable result this Sunday.
“Everyone, including myself has to have a good look in the mirror at what we can do better and how we can work harder,” Zadkovich said.
“I certainly think there-s a few guys that need to realise that so much effort from everyone goes into a Club like this and come game day, it-s a player-s responsibility to give 150 per cent.
“It-s not just about saying that I tried my best, it-s about dying for the cause and being out there and having that attitude and I think there-s probably a few boys that still need to learn that, and I think they will.
“There-s a few of us that definitely have that attitude and we-re hoping it will rub off on the other boys.
“They-re young and they-re probably still learning, but it will be a tough learning curve if they don-t change.”
Zadkovich said playing out a scoreless draw at home to Perth had left the Jets feeling dissatisfied and frustrated with their performance.
“It was a little bit disappointing to be honest, most of the boys were very frustrated with how the game went,” Zadkovich said.
“It was a scrappy affair and it looked like the game could have gone on for another two days and neither team would-ve scored, which is frustrating for us at home.
“To me, having a draw at home against Perth just isn-t good enough, because we have to win those games if we want to be successful.”
Despite his disappointment at the final result, Zadkovich said there were still a handful of positives to come out of the match for the Jets.
“We tried hard and defensively we were quite solid and quite sound, but we probably just missed that cutting edge in the front third,” Zadkovich said.
“I think it-s just a bit of cohesion between players and getting some good combinations happening, especially in the front third.
“That-s what we have to keep working on, but there-s a platform there for us to build on.
“We-re two games into the season and neither of them have gone the way we would have liked, but the attitude and application is there and we-ve been working hard.”
Zadkovich said it was crucial that the Jets match Wellington-s intensity and tenacity on Sunday, or risk being out-worked and overpowered by the home side.
“They-re a good example of a fighting team. They fight for everything and that-s a testament to them and their attitude,” Zadkovich said.
“They-ve got some really good players and we-ll have to be at our absolute best to beat them over there. It-s going to be a really tough game, make no mistake about that.
“I don-t mind being the underdog, I feed off that and hopefully the other boys can follow my lead.”
