Craig Deans says the Jets are feeling upbeat ahead of their first home game of the season against Perth Glory on Sunday.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets assistant coach Craig Deans says the Jets are feeling upbeat ahead of their first home game of the season against Perth Glory at Hunter Stadium on Sunday.
Deans said the Jets had shaken off the disappointment of their Round 1 loss to Sydney FC and were focused building on a handful of positives from that match ahead of their clash with Perth.
“When it-s such a long pre-season and such a big build-up to the game, to come away with a loss was really disappointing,” Deans said.
“We still had some positives to take from the game and we need to focus on them and not dwell on the negative stuff, so we can lift ourselves up for Sunday-s game.
“The players are resilient. It was the first game of the season and there are still 26 regular season games to go, so there is no need to panic right now.
“You have to be realistic about the result and we contributed a lot to our own downfall, so if we eliminate the errors and just be a bit more cut throat in the front third, it won-t be so bad.”
Deans said one of the positives to come out of the Jets season opener was the impact of substitutes Jacob Pepper, Josh Brillante and James Brown.
“We-ve said it for a little while, our squad is quite strong this year and we expect anyone that comes into the starting XI or comes off the bench to have a positive impact on the game,” Deans said.
“I think Pepper especially did that on Friday night and was unlucky not to get a goal.”
After only fashioning a handful of chances against Sydney, Deans said the Jets needed to display more of a ruthless streak while in the attacking third this weekend.
“I think the goals we conceded weren-t due to defensive issues, but one-off individual things, so aside from that, defensively there weren-t too many problems,” Deans said.
“In the front third we didn-t score any goals or create many chances, so obviously that-s not ideal.
“We need to look at that area and see what we can do to provide a bit more creativity.”
Deans said the return from injury of attacking midfielder Michael Bridges would prove to be a big boost for the Jets.
“Someone like Bridgey being fit and available again is going to be a big positive in that part of the field,” he said.
“Obviously Bridgey would have started if he was available on Friday night, so as long as he comes through training this week and he-s 100 per cent, it-s probably important we find a spot for some experience in that front third.
“When Emile or Bridgey play, I think the players around them get a bit more confidence in themselves, because they know those guys have been around a long time and they can help them through situations they might not have been in before.”
Deans said the Jets were determined to make the rip to Newcastle difficult for opposition teams this season, starting with the Glory on Sunday.
“Winning our home games is something that the boys have spoken about,” Deans said.
“We want to make sure that when we play at home we play well and we win.
“We want to get the crowd behind us and get as many people to the game as we can and winning is the best way to do that.”
Newcastle Jets v Perth Glory
Sunday, October 20
Hunter Stadium
Kick-off 3pm
Tickets available from PROticket
