Ernie Merrick warns his Jets they can’t take their foot off the gas

Newcastle boss Ernie Merrick has warned his team that the next three matches will define their season, as last year’s grand finalists bid to keep the prospect of a place in the finals alive.

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Newcastle boss Ernie Merrick has warned his team that the next three matches will define their season, as last year’s grand finalists bid to keep the prospect of a place in the finals alive.

Reinvigorated by Friday’s 5-1 thrashing of the Wanderers, the seventh-placed Jets have a remarkable opportunity to reel in the teams above them — playing Wellington (sixth), Melbourne City (fifth) and Adelaide (fourth) in consecutive home games.

The Jets remain rank outsiders to make the top sixth, with an eight-point gap to bridge even to reach sixth place, but Merrick said the spree at ANZ Stadium had bolstered his players’ confidence.

Merrick knows what it will take from his players. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)

Adding to their uphill task, playmaker Dimi Petratos is in doubt with a back injury, though he will be given until the last minute to prove his fitness ahead of a run of possibly five games in 18 days including Asian Champions League playoffs.

But Merrick underlined the need to build on what was only their second win in eight games and try to disrupt what appears to be a locked-in top six in the A-League.

Newcastle will need more big wins. (Mark Evans/Getty Images)

“To score five goals like that brings back the belief in the players,” Merrick said. “It’s amazing what happens when you play balls into the box and finish them off.

“That’s the team I remember from last season, but we‘ve got to kick on or it means nothing.

“The interesting thing is, it’s the three sides competing with us for a place in the finals that we have to play next, Wellington, Melbourne City and Adelaide.

“So it’s an ideal situation for us — in the last six games we had one at home but now we have three in a row. Having home support gets the team over the line, there’s no travel involved — there’s nothing but pluses and the three home games have come at the right time.

“But competing against the teams in our area, we need to do well. We need two or three (wins) in a row, not one in a row.”

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