Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg proved beyond doubt he is the king of spin after turning Sunday’s uninspiring 0-0 draw with Sydney into the catalyst for the cellar dwellers to climb the A-League ladder.
Sydney FC had not registered a point in three previous visits to Skilled Park so perhaps they could claim a victory of sorts over the last-placed United.
But to listen to Bleiberg, you could be forgiven for thinking Gold Coast had not only won the game, but played well enough to beat any team in the competition.
He has convinced the club’s billionaire owner Clive Palmer to write off the first phase of A-League matches and look to make a statement in the final two rounds.
Bleiberg’s post-game analogy that his players were like tennis players in the Australian Open was a beauty.
“I told Clive, let’s do our own calculations. Let’s do the second and third round as a separate entity,” said Bleiberg.
“The black past, forget about it. At the moment, we have one point. That’s how we look at it. We’re mid-table (after one game of the second round).
“We’re like tennis players now. The Australian Open is coming soon and you know that I like tennis. It doesn’t matter that we’re 5-0 down in the set. We will play point by point.”
Despite a record of one win and six points from 10 games, Bleiberg believes his team is not that far off the pace.
“On paper we are cellar dwellers, but in reality we are not far behind the rest of the teams, if at all. It’s cruel,” he said.
Bleiberg’s next opponent in his tennis match will be Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
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