JETS coach Gary van Egmond conceded yesterday that he had shelved the possession-based game he had insisted on introducing for a style more suitable to his players.
The Jets host league leaders Brisbane Roar, who under former coach Ange Postecoglou were the first A-League team to bring in the fashionable tiki-taka game plan made famous by Barcelona, at Hunter Stadium tomorrow.
Van Egmond had followed a similar path of playing out from the back, dominating possession and deploying a high defensive line.
But after missing the finals for the past two seasons and opening this campaign with a 2-0 loss to Sydney FC, despite having 61per cent of the ball, the coach has altered his approach.
‘‘It is definitely a change in tack from us,’’ van Egmond said.
‘‘We looked at it last year and we conceded a number of goals. I think it was 45 in 27 games.
‘‘You are not going to win anything conceding that many goals.
‘‘This season we have conceded five goals in five games. That puts you in pretty good stead when it comes to winning games and picking up points.
‘‘We have been controlling the game quite a bit without the ball with our defensive shape.’’
The Jets are unbeaten since the opening loss at Allianz Stadium, stringing three draws and a win together.
Their biggest slice of possession was 47per cent in the scoreless stalemate with Wellington in round three.
In the 2-1 win over Adelaide last round they had just 37per cent of the ball.
‘‘You can look to control the game with the ball, and I really admire the way Brisbane and Adelaide like to play,’’ van Egmond said.
‘‘But sometimes that is not necessarily the best way of playing. We have been working on a style that suits the playing group.
‘‘We have been sticking with that pretty diligently and are getting rewards. That builds confidence within the group and hopefully that can keep on getting us results.’’
Postecoglou left the Roar for Melbourne Victory at the start of last season, but Mike Mulvey has continued with the same philosophy.
The Roar travel to Newcastle without Socceroos Matt McKay and Ivan Franjic and injured trio Besart Berisha, Shane Stefanutto and Liam Miller, but van Egmond is expecting little to change.
‘‘We know they will line up in a 4-3-3, playing with two eights but with what personnel remains to be seen,’’ van Egmond said.
‘‘If you lose quality it does have an impact, but they have good depth and are not winning the comp by a fluke.’’
Jacob Pepper is on standby for Sam Gallaway (knee) at left back in the only likely change to the Jets.
Marquee striker Emile Heskey is set to again start on the bench in his second game back from a knee injury.
‘‘Sammy has been carrying his knee a little bit,’’ van Egmond said. ‘‘We will assess him tomorrow.
‘‘Peps had a very good game against Sydney [at left back] in the pre-season and has done quite well at training.’’
Pepper is one of 12 Jets players on the free agents’ list, which has attracted media attention this week.
Regulars Connor Chapman, Adam Taggart, Ben Kantarovski, Heskey and Kew Jaliens are also off contract.
‘‘Hopefully they can be finalised sooner rather than later,’’ van Egmond said.
‘‘The club has a good idea on who they are keen to retain. The process is under way.
‘‘It would be good to get it done, but it is not necessarily that easy, especially with the fact you have a salary cap.
‘‘The fans want to see us retain the best talent, the talent we have been investing in.
‘‘If you are going through barren years, you want to ensure you are getting something out of it down the track.’’
The Jets were yesterday linked to a move for Roar attacking duo Berisha and Dimi Petratos.
‘‘You would have to talk to the club about players who have been specifically targeted,’ van Egmond said.
‘‘In general it is the same players most clubs have targeted.’’
Van Egmond is also off contract and, although he would prefer to have finalised his future, said it was not his priority.
‘‘Coaches are no different to players in that they want to sort their future out,’’ van Egmond said. ‘‘Everyone has families to care for.
‘‘At the same time it is not something that is taking my focus away from the football team.’’