Western Sydney Wanderers’ Carl Robinson brushed off speculation he could become the Australian A-League’s first coaching casualty of the season after his side slipped to a 2-0 loss to Macarthur FC on Saturday.
Wanderers have won once in the opening four games of the campaign and have also been knocked out of the FFA Cup, leaving Robinson to acknowledge the pressure is growing as he attempts to build a winning team focused on the club’s younger players.
“(The aim is) to try and bring youth players through,” Robinson said after the game at Western Sydney Stadium.
“I can go and sign … 16, 18 really old players. I don’t want to do that. I had that last year and it didn’t work. I want to try and get the core and nucleus of players in an age range I want.
“To do that you have to be brave, and I’ve done that and told the club that’s what I want to do.
“I need to win as well and I’m not naive enough to not expect a bit of pressure when results come. You accept it and you move on.”
Robinson added Israel international Tomer Hemed and former England midfielder Jack Rodwell to his roster before the new season, but is also seeking to create greater opportunities for players from the club’s academy.
Despite strengthening their squad, Wanderers were knocked out of the FFA Cup on Tuesday by part-timers APIA Leichhardt and are sixth in the 12-team A-League ahead of Sydney FC’s meeting with Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.
“You can control the controllables and that’s what I do,” the former Wales international said of the growing speculation.
“I’m sitting here as the third or fourth manager in a couple of years.
“I’ll just do my business and be as open and honest with you and continue to work as hard as I can.”
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Richard Pullin)
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