Adelaide United intent on taking Nestory Irankunda to the ‘next level’

Adelaide United’s teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda continues to work on his attitude, on and off the field.

Adelaide United coach Carl Veart says teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda is making the necessary “corrections” to his attitude as he fights to regain his spot in the Reds’ starting team.

Veart on Friday said Irankunda would be left out of Adelaide’s starting side for the second week in succession when the Reds meet Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

There was speculation on Friday night that 18-year-old Irankunda – who will leave Adelaide at the end of the season to join German giants Bayern Munich – had been left out of the Reds squad that travelled to Sydney.

Adelaide officials would not confirm whether Irankunda was in Sydney.

However, it was confirmed that only 19 of the 20-man extended squad – that Irankunda was named in on Thursday – boarded the flight to NSW.

Following Adelaide’s 3-3 draw with Perth Glory last Friday, Veart expressed concern that he wasn’t seeing “enough happiness” from Irankunda.

Nestory Irankunda has again been overlooked for a starting berth. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“Nestor hasn’t been anywhere his level this (season) that we expected from him,’’ the Reds coach said last week.

“Whether the pressure is taking its toll on him, he must start and go back to enjoying his football.

“It’s a difficult position that he is in because everyone expects things from him, and it’s important, we’re very careful of how much we expect from him.”

Veart was again asked about Irankunda on Friday before the Reds departed for Sydney.

“Nestor is someone that we have to always be working with,” he said.

“We are trying to get him to that next level, and we have seen big improvements in his attitude on and off the pitch, and that’s something that we have to consistently keep working with him on.

“He knows what he needs to do, and he’s making those corrections.”

When asked of Irankunda would start against Sydney, Veart said: “We’ll most probably (start) the same as last week.

“The first half last week was very good and that’s where we need to be.

“Those players that do the right things get rewarded … no changes.”

The Reds are chasing their first win since beating Sydney 4-3 at the same venue on January 13.

“Both teams like to attack, so I wouldn’t count against a few goals,” Veart said.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on this week, our defensive shape, because over the course of the season, we’ve conceded too many goals, and that’s something that we need to fix.

“Hopefully, we can keep a clean sheet and get three points (on Saturday).”

Originally published as Adelaide United intent on taking Nestory Irankunda to the ‘next level’