Melbourne City’s Jason Hoffman believes consistency, a winning mentality and confidence are all key to turning around the club’s patchy form.
In his second season in the right back role at City, the utility is adamant that the players haven’t been overcome by expectation following Manchester City’s takeover, rather that results haven’t been going their way despite promising performances.
“I think there was a lot of expectation externally that was placed on the playing group and the club, but as a playing group, I don’t believe the players really felt that,” Hoffman said.
“I feel like we’ve been quite close, it’s just one of those things where the group, we need to find that winning mentality, and start turning decent performances into results.”
Following a ‘success breeds success’ mantra, Hoffman says that the best remedy for the side is to be able to find a win to snap an inconsistent run of form – a struggle for city so far this season, winning just one of seven games – to build momentum and a winning mentality.
“Obviously losing’s a habit, and winning’s a habit too, and I think if we string a few wins together, then obviously the attitude will be different, and the confidence going into a match will be a lot higher,” he said.
“It’s no surprise that teams that are on top of the table have had a few wins back to back”.
This week’s clash against an also inconsistent Wellington is a strong opportunity for City to notch that elusive win, with recent away history against Phoenix – a 5-0 win at Westpac Stadium in round 19 last season – working in the visitors’ favour.
“You can see the ladder, it’s a bit early to look at it, but the ladder is there, and there’s a bit of a split in I guess the top five, to the bottom,” Hoffman said.
“If a good result goes our way this week, then we can obviously bridge that gap to Wellington, and it seems like we are still in touch.”