No change in pressure, says winless Perth Glory coach David Zdrilic

Perth Glory coach David Zdrilic says he does not feel more under pressure in the wake of owner Ross Pelligra penning a letter to members in support the club’s under-fire football department.

With a trip to fourth-placed Adelaide United on Friday night, the Glory are staring down an unwanted sixth winless A-League game in a row to start the season.

But despite fan angst over the abject start to the season, with Zdrilic and football director Stan Lazaridis in the cross-hairs, Pelligra backed in his football department in a letter to fans on Tuesday night.

When asked whether receiving the backing of the board made him feel more under pressure, Zdrilic said it did not.

“The pressure is always there to want to see a win, and that was after the first game, so nothing changes there,” he said.

“The times I’ve met with Ross and I know the type of character he is... while he wants things to change very quickly, he understands the situation.”

“Obviously the fans and everybody’s looking at the results right now, and they’re not good.”

The Glory have endured an abysmal start to the season, claiming an unwanted A-League record by conceding 16 goals in their opening five games.

Including their off-season Australia Cup campaign, Perth have conceded an astonishing 49 goals in just 12 games and find themselves with a goal difference of -14 after just five matches this season.

Their last A-League Men’s victory came against Brisbane Roar, 15 games and nine months ago, which also coincided with Pelligra’s first game as owner.

In his letter, Pelligra said Zdrilic and Lazaridis had been given a remit to recruit and develop young players for the future.

“The Perth Glory Football Department has the full backing of the board and we are confident that they are the right people to drive this club forward on the pitch,” he said.

Zdrilic said he understood the criticism and insisted the mood in the squad was still upbeat as they looked to change the club’s fortunes.

“We obviously want it to happen right now. I want it to happen right now. The fans want it to happen right now and that’s what we’re working on.”

Among the young players who have played significant minutes five games into the season are defender Zach Lisolajski and wingers Abdul Faisal and Khoa Ngo, while forward Nathanael Blair impressed in pre-season.

Zdrilic said the youngsters would benefit from the tough early results and backed them to improve as the campaign grew.

“One of this pillars of this club was to bring young players in. It still comes down to the who’s ready and who’s able to do it, it’s not just because you’re young, you’re playing,” he said.

“The young ones are going to develop very quickly. They’re the ones that you’re going to see later on the season and you’re going to say ‘wow these guys are really good players’.

“The results blur the good performances and some of the development of players; some of them I wouldn’t say, they’re going to explode, but they’re already learning.”