Sydney FC skipper Alex Brosque warns Sky Blues’ running out of excuses

SYDNEY FC skipper Alex Brosque has given a brutally honest appraisal of his side’s season, saying they must turn it around against Central Coast on Boxing Day.

IT was the sort of blunt message a captain needs to deliver, and Alex Brosque pulled no punches about Sydney FC’s season.

The Sky Blues, he said, were “running out of time and excuses” as they prepare to face the Mariners on Boxing Day.

Sitting fourth on the ladder, with a miserly defensive record but an anaemic scoring total, Sydney need to put Central Coast to the sword — just as they did to reignite their campaign almost a year ago.

Pained by watching their cross-city rivals climb to the top of the ladder, Sydney have scored just 11 goals in 11 games, missing more chances against Wellington in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

Now, against the side stone-cold bottom of the league, Brosque said it was time to “make a statement” about where their campaign is heading.

“I definitely think if we can win this week — which I think we absolutely have to — it will build a little bit of momentum for us,” he said. “After that we’ve got (second-placed) Melbourne City. If we go and beat them, it changes the ladder completely for us.

“So this definitely is a must-win for us. We really need to get our season going now, it’s at the point where we’re sort of running out of time and excuses.”

Brosque looks set to return on Boxing Day, after missing two games with a tight hamstring, but fellow striker Shane Smeltz remains in doubt thanks to a tight groin.

Brosque — and Sydney FC — have struggled for form this season.

But with marquee Filip Holosko having scored twice in two games, Brosque said it was easy to find inspiration for a run of form.

In January Sydney put a poor first half of last season behind them by dispatching the Mariners 5-1, the start of a run that saw them score 25 times in seven games.

“It is easy to say ‘Look, the same happened last year’ and it’s easy to fall back on last year, but it’s the truth,” Brosque said. “Last year we were having a lot of scoring problems, (Austrian marquee striker) Marc Janko was under the spotlight for not scoring enough goals.

“Then once it clicked we didn’t look back. We ended up with a record number of goals last season and were confident we can turn it around. When it does click for us I think, just as last year, we won’t look back.

“This is probably a similar point time as last year that we got our season underway. It was a 5-1 win against the Mariners that kickstarted our season, so I think we’ll look at that.

“Not with any disrespect to the Mariners, they’ll have a lot to prove themselves. It’s more the fact that we’re at home this week against a team that hasn’t been performing that well this season, and we really need to take advantage of that.

“We need a strong performance to make a statement of our own.”

Originally published as Sydney FC skipper Alex Brosque warns Sky Blues’ running out of excuses