Melbourne City desperate to avoid complacency in clash with A-League cellar dwellers

Melbourne City won’t take A-League battlers Brisbane Roar lightly at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

A “smash in the face” awaits Melbourne City if the in-form team relaxes against the A-League’s worst side, Brisbane Roar.

That’s the warning from City coach Aurelio Vidmar ahead of Saturday night’s AAMI Park battle.

Vidmar's men are unbeaten in their past six matches and are chasing a third successive win.

It contrast, the Roar sit on the bottom of the ladder with no wins and just two points from 11 matches this season.

Despite City’s ongoing injury problems, the hosts will rightly start as hot favourites against a Roar team that is among the worst in A-League history.

However, Vidmar has promised complacency won’t be an issue for his team, which thrashed a woeful Brisbane 4-1 at Suncorp Stadium last month.

Jacob Brazete shares his thoughts ahead of Saturday's #ALM action against Melbourne City at AAMI Park 🗣

Full interview & #MCYvBRI preview → https://t.co/nMZ8pRUNYYpic.twitter.com/TBlb89C4A4

— Brisbane Roar FC (@brisbaneroar) January 10, 2025

“When things are going well, if you get too comfortable, you get a `smash in the face’,” Vidmar said.

“We’ve just got to be mindful of that. Our work ethic to this point has been fantastic. If we roll up with the right attitude, and with a good work ethic, we should be fine, but you just don’t get something for nothing.

“You have to put in the hard work to get the result. Everyone thinks you should just win, but it just doesn’t work like that.

“We have to be focused and we have to pay a lot of attention to the small details.”

Vidmar described the Roar as a “good footballing team” despite the Queenslanders’ horror season that has coach Ruben Zadkovich fighting to save his job even with the club’s chief executive officer Kaz Patafta having recently publicly backed the embattled mentor.

“There are such fine margins regardless of where you are situated on the ladder,” Vidmar said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re top or bottom of the league. Every game is hotly contested, and I don’t expect anything else than that (on Saturday).”

Originally published as Melbourne City desperate to avoid complacency in clash with A-League cellar dwellers