Central Coast coach Graham Arnold admits some of his young players may be feeling the pinch as the Mariners’ grip on the A-League premiers’ plate continues to loosen.
But Arnold insists his side is playing well enough to fend off a fierce late charge from reigning champions Brisbane Roar with four matches remaining.
After holding a seemingly unassailable 11-point competition lead only three weeks ago, the Mariners now have only a three-point buffer over the Roar following Sunday’s 1-0 loss away to Melbourne Heart.
The Mariners have picked up only four points from their past five games, while the Roar have won four straight.
Arnold, though, is far from panicking ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Sydney FC, believing the Mariners’ performances have been better than results suggest and pleased they still control their own fate.
“Obviously the lead has been cut shorter but we never thought that we were that good that we were going to win the competition by 10-12 points,” Arnold told AAP on Monday.
“It’s the nature of the A-League with the salary cap system in place, teams go through good times and bad times.
“… If you’d said at the start of the year after 23 rounds you’re going to be three points on top, you’d have signed off on it.
“We’ve got four games left. It’s all about picking up results but if we continue to play the way we did (against the Heart) I’m confident we’ll get the results we need.”
Arnold said it was inevitable there would be some anxiety among his inexperienced squad, which features plenty of youth including Mat Ryan, Tom Rogic, Bernie Ibini, Oliver Bozanic and Trent Sainsbury.
“We’ve got more kids than anyone,” Arnold said.
“It’s something they have not been used to before.
“It’s not easy for them, they probably are anxious … but we’ve got to make sure we keep them relaxed and that they continue to play the game and not the game next week.”
Arnold said he was yet to get to the bottom of why new signing John Sutton took a penalty in Sunday’s match instead of regular taker, veteran defender Patrick Zwaanswijk.
Striker Sutton missed the penalty, smashing it into the right upright.
“I’ll have a chat to (Zwaanswijk) when we return to training on Wednesday but Patrick is our penalty taker and it’s the second time it’s happened this year,” Arnold said.
“There must be a reason behind it, so I’ll find out.”
Arnold said his players had pulled up well despite playing in 35 degree heat in Melbourne.
The former Socceroos coach called after the match for all A-League games to played at night.
“The games at night time, every game you watch at night time, the spectacle is so much better,” Arnold said.
“The players have so much more energy and the intensity is so much quicker.”