Avondale Heights coach Anthony Barbieri admits that promotion from the NPL 1 this season is “miles off” despite his side going two points clear at the top after a convincing 5-2 win over Richmond SC.
The home side scored five goals unanswered to take an unassailable lead over their struggling opponents, before conceding two late on.
READ MORE > Forward thinking for Avondale
Despite earning their fifth straight win of the season, Barbieri declared that his side never go into a game expecting victory, and they didn’t approach the Richmond game in that manner.
“There’s definitely no games where you go out and you expect to win,” Barbieri said.
“We definitely don’t approach it that way, every games definitely a challenge, and [Richmond] have got some quality players.
“You have a look at their team sheet and they’ve got a lot of experienced players and a lot of boys that can play so obviously we don’t take anyone lightly.”
The coach’s approach has allowed the players to keep their feet on the ground, whilst avoiding falling into the trap of complacency, which they ironically fell into after taking a five-goal lead.
Some soft goals conceded towards the end of the match soured the performance, and Barbieri put that down to switching off mentally.
“I think when any team’s up 5-0, it’s psychologically one of those things that happens,” he said.
“Obviously it’s not good to concede two goals but it means there is something to work on which is good because it keeps everyone level grounded. It keeps their feet on the ground.”
In what could be described as a metaphor for the season as a whole, Barbieri will no doubt be looking for a stronger finish from his team, even if it looks like the game, or the league, is comfortably won.
“We haven’t achieved anything just yet, there’s miles still to go,” the head coach said.
“Next week we’ve got North Geelong away which will be a difficult game again and we’ve still got plenty of extraordinarily difficult games left.
“We’ve got no expectations, at the end of the day we just want to play some good stuff, play some good football and it’s a week-to-week proposition.”
When asked about the simple matter of promotion, Barbieri stuck to his guns, admitting promotion is still a long season away.
“To be honest, promotion is miles off, it’s something we’re not even contemplating,” he said.
“The club’s growing – we just want to keep our feet on the ground, play some good football and entertain the crowd.
“[If we consider] a week-to-week proposition, it’s results.”
Avondale make the long trip up to tackle North Geelong Warriors on Saturday. Kick-off at the regional centre is scheduled for 3:00pm.