Suspicious ... Graham Arnold doesn't want his players distracted. Source: Paul Miller / AAP
Central Coast Mariners players have not been paid, but boss Graham Arnold says the side will turn up to face Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday.
Arnold has also banned his players from watching A-League football on Fox Sports TV in a bid to halt anxiety at the business end of the championship.
Re-live all the goals, match highlights and stats as the Wanderers went on an historic run of A-League wins:
- January 13
- January 20
- January 26
- February 3
- February 9
- February 16
- February 23
- March 2
- March 10
- March 16
The former Socceroos boss believes the cash crisis - players have not been paid in a month - will not affect the group but he was concerned about the Mariners' losing focus by watching this weekend's games.
By the time Adelaide and Mariners kick off on Sunday, both sides will know all the results of the penultimate round.
Arnold was adamant that resorting to strike action if payments were not made to his players this week was not going to happen.
"No way. We're as motivated as ever, " he said.
"We'll be there on Saturday and we're coming over to play on Sunday knowing something will be resolved soon.
"I obviously know a lot more about what's going on than the players do.
"But there's a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes and I just try to manage it without the players knowing and let them concentrate on football.
"They are distractions but I've been through enough over the years with the national team stuff and it doesn't bother me too much.''
Arnold was adamant his squad must follow protocol and not watch any A-League football, given the Mariners were still a chance of claiming the premier's plate.
"I told them a few weeks ago not to watch the games on TV anymore, " Arnold said.
"Otherwise they can get affected by the pressure of the results.
"After the Sydney game (0-2 loss on March 9), I told them if you're going to watch any football watch the English Premier League or overseas football.
"We do enough A-League video analysis so they don't need to watch any other teams."
A-League leader Western Sydney Wanderers must drop five out of six points in the remaining two matches while the Mariners need to claim maximum points for Arnold and his side to claim successive premier's plate trophies.
Professional Footballers Australia yesterday issued a statement confirming Mariners players and staff had not been paid their monthly wages.
"At this stage the PFA believes that the players entitlements will be forthcoming shortly, " the PFA said in a statement.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét