Leijer: Victory's best is yet to come

Adrien Leijer ... says Melbourne Victory have the quality to beat the top A-League teams. Source: George Salpigtidis / News Limited

Melbourne Victory captain Adrian Leijer has defended his side's record against the A-League's best teams, saying the team's confidence had not been dented by recent losses to premiership contenders Adelaide United and Western Sydney.

Victory has not defeated league leader Central Coast Mariners this A-League season and has lost twice each to the Wanderers (second) and the Reds (fourth).

Leijer yesterday said third-placed Victory's standing on the ladder was an accurate reflection of its season given its slow start under new coach Ange Postecoglou.

"A new game plan and adapting to Ange's style, it does take time," Leijer said.

"But the way we've developed throughout the season I think we've come along in leaps and bounds. There's six weeks left before the finals, which is the business end, and we know we can still get better."

Victory trails the Mariners by six points and the Wanderers by five with six weeks remaining in the season, but Leijer said winning the title was still the club's aim despite back-to-back losses.

"We haven't played our best football," Leijer said.

"The games were close games, tight games, we had chances and we couldn't get on the scoreboard.

"But we know where we're at and this game is important for us in the scope of our season," he said.

"We basically need to win up there for our title aspirations.

"We want to finish top this year, so it's an important three points."

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Central Coast	21	12	6	3	21	42
2	Western Sydney	21	13	2	6	12	41
3	Victory	21	11	3	7	2	36
4	Adelaide	21	11	2	8	2	35
5	Sydney	21	8	3	10	-7	27
6	Newcastle	21	7	5	9	-7	26
7	Brisbane	21	7	3	11	0	24
8	Heart	21	7	3	11	-3	24
9	Perth	21	6	4	11	-3	22
10	Wellington	21	5	5	11	-17	20

A 1-1 draw with the Mariners in Launceston last month has been stored in the memory bank, Leijer said, as the sides prepared to meet in Gosford tomorrow night.

"I think we dominated them and could have put three or four past them in the first half," Leijer said.

"So I think we take that into the game, we take confidence out of that performance and know that if we do play our best football, we can get a result up there."

Speculation about Marco Rojas's future continues with news scouts from three clubs - AZ Alkmaar (Holland), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) and Dusseldorf (Germany) - planning to be at Bluetongue Stadium to see the Kiwi play.

Leijer said the recognition was great for the 21-year-old, but teammates try to help keep his feet on the ground.

"A few weeks ago it was Liverpool and Juventus and now the clubs are a bit smaller so he has to start scoring more goals," Leijer joked.

"He deals with it well, he's got a good head on his shoulders."

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