Perth Glory's interim coach Adam Griffiths believes a psychological burden from several difficult seasons is affecting his squad's performance, as the team enters the international break sitting at the bottom of the A-League Men's ladder.
Winless Streak Continues at HBF Park
The Glory suffered their fourth consecutive match without victory on Friday night, falling 1-0 to Central Coast Mariners at HBF Park. This disappointing result leaves Perth as one of only two teams yet to register a win this season, continuing a troubling pattern for the back-to-back wooden spooners.
Despite controlling more possession and registering more shots on target than their opponents, Griffiths' men couldn't find the net, extending their goal drought to three matches. The game's decisive moment came when Bailey Brandtman scored an excellent strike for the Mariners, capitalising on a brief lapse in Perth's concentration.
"There's been a clear shift in our approach, there's definitely desire to want to win the game," Griffiths said. "They're really pushing and working hard, which is what we expect from this Perth Glory team."
Mental Barriers and Scoring Struggles
The interim coach, now in his second match since replacing the sacked David Zdrilic, identified a mental block preventing his players from converting opportunities into results. Griffiths pointed to the team's underlying statistics, which reveal a significant disconnect between their shot volume and actual scoring threat.
Perth has taken 48 shots on goal this season - the fourth-highest tally in the league - but their expected goals metric sits at just 3.9, ranking third-worst among all teams. This analytical evidence supports Griffiths' observation that quality chances aren't materialising despite the team's efforts.
"It's just that those small moments will change when we have really good momentum and we're not taking those moments and turning them into a goal," Griffiths explained. "We're challenging the players to give us outputs, give us a nice cross, give us a goal."
Coaching Future and Fitness Focus
With the club aiming to announce a permanent replacement for Zdrilic by the end of next week, Griffiths has expressed his interest in securing the role permanently. However, he emphasised that his immediate priority remains guiding the team to their first victory of the campaign.
"I haven't been told anything at this point. I would love to continue," Griffiths stated. "At the moment, for the last few years, there has been this heavy weight; we need to lift that weight."
The scoring burden continues to fall heavily on captain Adam Taggart, particularly with recent attacking signings Tom Lawrence and Jaiden Kucharski sidelined by injury. While Taggart and strike partner Sebastian Despotovski began brightly against Central Coast, their opportunities diminished as the visitors adopted a deeper defensive approach.
Griffiths revealed that despite a brief break during the international window, the squad would maintain intense training sessions to address fitness concerns. "They'll be coming in and training very, very hard and making sure we get fitter," he said. "I don't think we're fit enough to dominate teams the way we want to dominate."
The coach remains optimistic about turning the season around, citing the imminent return of key players after the international break and his belief that the team's improved approach will eventually yield results. "After the international weekend, we have real quality coming back into the team, and that excites me," Griffiths said, determined to help his players break through what he describes as the "dam wall" currently blocking their progress.
