Victory not bothered by poor Perth record

Mar 10, 2017 - 1:59 AM Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat says he's more concerned by performance than points ahead of his team's A-League clash with their bogey side Perth.

Victory, who are second on the competition ladder, haven't beaten fifth-placed Perth in their past eight A-League meetings dating back almost three years, with four losses and four draws to their name.

Ahead of their clash at AAMI Park on Saturday night, Muscat says he's been happy with his team's two most recent outings against the Glory.

"The last few games, results-wise it's been difficult against them, but our last two performances against them have been very good," Muscat said on Friday.

"Even across in Perth we should have won the game, let alone come away with a loss.

"Having said that, they're a good team who have a lot to play for as well."

With second spot almost assured due to a nine-point buffer on third-placed Melbourne City and then Brisbane, Muscat wants his team to deliver a 90-minute performance.

He said that, rather than competition points, was more important at this stage of the season and in the position that they are in.

"I'm not concerned with making a statement or closing the gap between us and Sydney, they don't concern me as much as performance," Muscat said.

"The only thing I'd like to change is that we perform to our capabilities for longer.

"It hasn't happened often enough this season."

Victory will welcome back defender Alan Baro, who they missed in their 1-0 loss to runaway leaders Sydney last round through illness.

Muscat described Glory winger Diego Castro as a "phenomenal player", who supplied the ammunition to Perth's swag of attacking threats.

He said that the Glory were delivering on the promise they showed early in the season thanks to some stability in their line-up.

In recent clashes Perth have maintained their attacking brand of football yet still managed to hold Victory out but Muscat felt a breakthrough wasn't far off.

"They held us out in terms of the amount of goals they concdeded but we created a hell of a lot of chances so I'm not really too concerned," he said.

"My main concern is to get a performance up there near our best and the result will look after itself."

Source: AAP