Coach Miron Bleiberg will wield the axe while his assistant Paul Okon attacked poor attitudes as an “embarrassed” Gold Coast assessed the wreckage from their record A-League defeat.
The competition’s self-confessed glamour club and one-time high-flyers must pick up the pieces after crashing to earth with a disastrous 6-0 thumping in Wellington.
After convincingly winning their first three matches to back up billionaire owner Clive Palmer’s boast United would be crowned undefeated premiers in their inaugural season, the Coast are facing a major test of their character.
The Phoenix exposed a lack of spirit after the outplayed visitors conceded their second goal just after halftime when reserve goalkeeper Scott Higgins replaced the injured Jess Vanstrattan.
It was followed by three more in the next 10 minutes.
“They gave us a lesson in attitude yesterday, that if we don’t turn up with the right spirit or the right frame of mind similar results will happen,” former Socceroos captain Okon said.
Bleiberg called off a “torturous” video review session to prevent sapping an already low confidence, but did warn he needed to mete out some punishment.
“We have to make changes,” he said. “We have to make changes first of all because we were not good enough, second because they were forced by injury and, three, you have to show people that you lost 6-0 and it’s not just `life goes on and you turn up for the next game’.
“You have to shake the system a bit. It doesn’t mean the changes will be forever. I still believe we have a good team and we will challenge for everything available.
“But when it’s unacceptable we have to get punished.
“We have to lift our game.”
Both Vanstrattan (back) and Kristian Rees (hamstring) are unlikely to be fit to take on North Queensland at Skilled Park on Saturday night.
An angry Bleiberg told his players to look at themselves first and foremost after the whitewash.
“It’s not the end of the world,” he said. “We lost three points. If we had lost six times 1-0 it would be worse.
“I told them not to blame anybody, to look in the mirror first: Just shut up and keep quiet and be embarrassed, that’s all, and just think about the next game.
“Watch the video at home and erase this game from the memory.”
Central defender Bas van den Brink has been a shining light in United’s outfit this season but was among those who had a game they would rather forget.
The Dutchman didn’t see the heavy defeat coming and called for Bleiberg to show faith in the starting XI and give them a chance to atone.
“It was a horrible loss,” Van den Brink said. “We weren’t underestimating Phoenix but this can’t be happening in our team.
“We made a lot of mistakes and they did a great job and worked hard.
“They deserved it and we didn’t deserve it. Six-nil, it hurts.
“It was one of these game where everything went wrong.
“We just have to be positive and make the best of it and not let our heads hang down. We have to stand up, work hard and that’s the only way. I’m confident.”
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The two spot kicks levelled the score on aggregate over the two legs, but Bayer Leverkusen then scored two late goals for a draw…
Just four teams remain in the hunt for the 2023/24 A-League Championship and the action will be intense in the opening legs of the…
Bayern Munich led 1-nil at the 87th minute mark until the Spaniard's two goals.
Alphonso Davies looked to have undone all his hard work of scoring the first goal when the ball went into his own net off…
Real Madrid will go for their 15th European title against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley at the start of June after a stunning late turnaround…
Selflessness. Not a trait typically associated with Real Madrid. After all, this is the club of the 'Galacticos' and the European Super League. A…
