Victory coach Jim Magilton took plenty of positives out of Saturday’s 0-0 derby draw with Melbourne Heart that he hopes his team can now build on in the run to the finals.
Victory coach Jim Magilton took plenty of positives out of Saturday’s 0-0 derby draw with Melbourne Heart that he hopes his team can now build on in the run to the finals.
Magilton has now picked up four points from five games in charge since replacing Mehmet Durakovic, drawing with Adelaide United, Sydney FC and Gold Coast United but going down 4-1 in Perth to the Glory.
And while the wins have not yet started to come for Victory since he took over the job, Magilton was pleased with the final result on Saturday after his men overcame a slow start to the game and then the dismissal of Grant Brebner with 15 minutes left.
“I wouldn’t say (we were) terrible but yeah I’m pleased,” Magilton said.
“We showed grit, determination, all the characteristics that you need and they dug in for one another, showed grit together and they got a result.”
“So they’re positives for me, they’re real positives and we need to just build on this.”
The match was also the first in 14 that Victory kept a clean sheet, which also pleased Magilton, but he nonetheless still sees plenty for his players to work on as they attempt to take their training park form onto the pitch.
“We are a long way short of where I want us to be and it drives me nuts.”
“It’s the same old, same old, same old, you get it every week.”
“We need to be better with the ball, we need to retain the ball.”
“We do it every day in training (but) we’ve just got to instil that belief (that) when you cross the white line it’s no different.”
“That’s when you should go out and enjoy it and express yourself and want to play.”
“We forced them into errors and then we gave it back to them (and) it’s been happening week in, week out.”
With all that in mind, Magilton does still believe Victory can make a run to the finals even though they are seventh on the table and could find themselves five points adrift of sixth place if Sydney FC beat Newcastle Jets on Sunday.
“But we’re getting there, I firmly believe we’re getting there,” Magilton said.
“And regardless (of) what it looks to you guys (the media), to me I can see changes and I can see positivity and I can see things are going to change, I really do and as I say we’re going to build on today.”
“And sometimes out of this adversity you can get stronger, and we should, we should use that and that’s what it’s all about.”
“As the skipper (Adrian Leijer) said, there’s still seven games to go, anything can happen.”
“You go into there and what’ he’s talking about is momentum, momentum in football is massive.”
“We just need to keep believing and throwing off the shackles, throwing off the shackles and going to express ourselves.”
