Complacency not an issue for Perth Glory boss Tony Popovic

Tony Popovic says there is no danger of complacency creeping into his squad as Perth Glory close in on some silverware.

Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic celebrates a win over Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park in February. Picture: Getty Images

Top of the table, nine points clear, five games left and the Premiers Plate is seemingly being polished ready for Perth Glory’s name to be inscribed.

It could be a recipe for some complacency but it is not something Glory coach Tony Popovic believes will be a problem as the A-League moves into the final straight towards the playoffs.

While Popovic is still not prepared to say his team is home and hosed for the club’s first trophy in the A-League era, he says there is no denying they are “very close”.

They can take another step closer against Melbourne Victory at HBF Park tonight in what many believe is the A-League grand final come seven weeks early.

Popovic is taking nothing for granted against the defending champions but neither does he believe he needs to rein in the emotions of his players with success possibly on the horizon.

“You are always conscious (about complacency) as a coach … there’s no reason for me to speak about that,” Popovic said. “When I see how they train and how determined they are and their desire to keep working hard and improving on a weekly basis, then there’s no ­reason to suggest that it would warrant concern regarding complacency or whether they are looking too far ahead.

“They are showing me on the weekends with the results they are producing that there are no issues.

“It’s just business as usual and targeting to be the best as possible at training and in games.”

Popovic’s focus is simply on the game against a Victory side that will be keen to strike a psychological blow ahead of the playoffs.

The West Australians have got the better of the Victorians in their two games this season, winning both away from home; 3-2 in round two and 2-1 in round 18 seven weeks ago.

Still, Popovic doesn’t believe his side has a hold over Victory.

“I don’t feel we have the wood on them, but we have shown we can compete with them at a very high level, which they are at anyway,” he said. “And we need that sort of high-level performance to be able to do that again.

“Anything short of that, with the quality they have, won’t be enough.”

So are Victory the benchmark?

“I regard them as a benchmark when you see how they operate and the success they have had as a business and as a team,” Popovic said. “That is something we want to emulate … you have to have success and challenge for honours over a period of time, so that’s the huge respect we have for them.

Perth, beaten just once this season (by Sydney FC), are coming off a difficult run during which they played three successive games away from home for draws against Western Sydney and Melbourne City and last week’s 2-0 win against Adelaide United.

Popovic doesn’t foresee any major changes to his squad for ­tonight.

“It was a very solid performance away from home last week. We have had three very good results in the last three weeks,” he said. “It has been a long time since we played at home and everyone is excited about the prospect of playing Victory in front of a big crowd.

“The players should embrace it because they deserve it. The way they play, they deserve a big crowd against a big opponent.’’

Meanwhile, departing Adelaide United coach Marco Kurz is refusing to detail the reasons behind his looming split from the A-League club.

Reds chairman Piet van der Pol 11 days ago told Kurz he wouldn’t be offered a new contract when his current deal expires at the end of this season.

Kurz said at the time his departure was due to a lack of “common vision” with Reds hierarchy.

But yesterday, Kurz refused to elaborate, saying: “Sometimes it’s not so important that the public have to know what kind of discussion it was.’’

The German, touted as a candidate for the vacant Brisbane Roar coaching job, said he was fielding offers from other clubs but declined to say if they were from A-League rivals.