Muscat to launch inquest after capitulation
Every Melbourne Victory player and coaching staff member will be held accountable after Sydney FC inflicted a second successive 5-0 defeat on the team, according to fuming head coach Kevin Muscat.
After going down 5-0 away to Wellington Phoenix last week, the Victory repeated the feat at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, suffering a new record home loss.
The boos reigned down from a disappointed Australia Day crowd, and Muscat afterwards assured the media a major inquest will be launched on the training field and at the club's headquarters next week.
"From here on in we've got to get back to AAMI Park and Gosch's Paddock and find out who really wants to play, and who wants to represent this football club," he said.
"It's a proud football club and from my perspective it's nowhere near good enough in our desire and our application to win a football game.
"We can talk about systems and structures, you can talk about anything you like in relation to that. But if you don't have the desire and the belief to go out and play football and work hard, everything else is irrelevant."
For all Muscat's tough talk, he was at something of a loss to explain the abject showing of his team.
"Certainly no excuses," he said.
"We simply just didn't turn up. It's as simple as that. A big crowd turns up here today, it's a big occasion. We obviously ... each and everyone of us have got to have a serious look at ourselves.
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"Because to dish up something like - to say it's unacceptable is an understatement. Nowhere near good enough a performance to try and win a football game. Give away goals as cheaply as we give away goals, individual errors. Give ourselves a mountain to climb.
"And then obviously after that it just seemed to sap any confidence we've got in us. In the end it was bordering on embarrassing in front of our fans.
"It's pretty hard to take, I'm a proud person. I'm not comfortable with what we've dished up. Everyone in that dressing room needs to have a real good look at themselves."
Muscat admitted the players who returned last week from international duty with Australia's Under-22 team may not have been as ready as he hoped to play a part in the game.
He also said that he opted to deploy substitute Jason Geria at right-back because the youngster had been playing there with the junior national team in Oman, explaining the seemingly contradictory decision to move holding player Leigh Broxham to centre-back and push fullback Scott Galloway into central midfield after Adrian Leijer was subbed off with concussion.
Finally, Muscat reiterated his pre-match comments that he is not planning any further January transfer activity beyond the arrival of Tom Rogic on loan, despite the team's poor run of form.