Middleby pleads for supporters to forgive team
JETS chief executive Robbie Middleby hopes fans will give Newcastle’s players and coach Phil Stubbins a chance to redeem themselves but admits that ‘‘actions speak louder than words’’.
Friday night’s 4-0 trouncing from Brisbane at Hunter Stadium, which left the Jets without a win after six games, has prompted a predictably hostile reaction from frustrated followers, many of whom have labelled it the worst performance in the club’s history.
Middleby said fans were entitled to their opinions and everyone at the club was ‘‘apologetic’’ for producing such a lacklustre effort on home turf. But he called on the Novocastrian faithful to ‘‘stick by us’’ and was confident of a vastly improved performance against Western Sydney Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday.
‘‘I know it’s been tough so far, but we need their support,’’ Middleby told the Newcastle Herald.
‘‘We need the support from everyone. The players, the staff, we’re all hurting, because we feel like we let everyone down on Friday night.
‘‘But we need their support if we’re going to thrive.’’
Brisbane coach Mike Mulvey expressed similar sentiments at the post-match press conference on Friday when he was asked about Newcastle fans booing their team off the pitch.
‘‘We’ve played four games and we’ve lost three at home, but our fans have been more patient,’’ Mulvey said.
‘‘That comes from having a level of success over the years, which Newcastle hasn’t enjoyed.
‘‘It’s time now for them to back their players, back their manager. That’s the only way you can achieve anything in this game, if everybody sticks together,’’ Mulvey said.
Middleby was disappointed that Stubbins, who is six games into a two-year tenure, was already attracting scrutiny over his future.
‘‘It’s early in the season,’’ Middleby said.
‘‘We’ve got faith in Phil and the players that that performance will not be a regular thing.
‘‘To me, I don’t see why we should be commenting on job security ... it’s six games into the season.
‘‘We’ve had a tough run but Phil’s our coach.
‘‘He’s got a new team, a lot of players who have been in and out, but Phil is our coach.
‘‘And we’ve got faith that Phil and the players will turn this around. All of us, collectively.’’
Middleby said Saturday’s clash with Asian champions Western Sydney, who occupy the bottom rung on the A-League ladder but have two games in hand on second-last Newcastle, would be ‘‘another very, very tough game’’ but he backed the Jets to show their true colours.
‘‘We need to come out and make amends with our performance,’’ he said. ‘‘Actions speak louder than words.
‘‘But I’m confident that there are certain types of characters in the club who will respond the right way to this.
‘‘That’s why I’m certain the performance will be better this week.’’
A shellshocked Stubbins said he had to ‘‘take responsibility’’ for the performance,
admitting he was ‘‘embarrassed’’ by the home crowd’s reaction.
‘‘All I can say to the fans is we’ll be doing everything we can to make amends,’’ Stubbins said. ‘‘The quality is one thing. Effort, endeavour and approach and your mindset and mentality is another ... we need to set some standards in place that are akin to a team that does have a crack.’’
Originally Posted by Grimario
