Newcastle hope a quick turnaround between A-League Men matches can jolt them out of a mid-season slump against Brisbane on Tuesday night.
With little time to do anything but recover from Friday night’s 4-0 thumping from Sydney FC, the Jets return to McDonald Jones Stadium after consecutive losses they admit have battered the team’s morale.
“It's not easy, we've had some good performances and haven't gotten the results,” winger Reno Piscopo said.
“But this week with such a short turnaround we can't dwell on it, and we have to move forward.
“There's still plenty of games to go and we just have to get as many wins as possible.”
Before the Sydney thrashing, the Jets threw away victory against the Roar in Unite Round, conceding in the 82nd and 90th minutes to lose 3-2.
The pair of fixtures have revealed an alarming trend; the Jets having lost five of their past six second halves, having conceded three times against both Sydney and Brisbane.
“Going into the second half, it's a big issue, that's something we have to work on and we've spoken about it,” Piscopo said.
“Our focus has been straight away on Brisbane Roar.
“After the (Sydney) game we spoke about it, what we have to do moving forward, and then moved on as quickly as possible and focused on the next game.”
Piscopo disagreed with his coach Rob Stanton’s assessment the side needed to mature in the way they managed games.
“Everyone that's here can do the job and has to put their hand up to do the job too,” he said.
Brisbane’s win against the Jets was a rare highlight in a disastrous stretch for the Roar, who'd lost five of their past six games while conceding 20 goals.
The Roar won’t have loan signing Keegan Jelacic, who received a straight red card in Thursday night’s 3-1 loss to Macarthur.
