Giancarlo Italiano concedes his team are now playing for pride. Photo: photosport
Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano admits the A-League playoffs are beyond them, after they crashed to a 4-1 loss against Western United - their fourth straight defeat.
The Phoenix were outplayed in Melbourne, trailing 2-0 at halftime, with Nathan Walker's maiden goal in the second half providing scant reason to cheer.
"I'm hurting as much as the fans are," Italiano said. "I'm not fazed by losing games, but the way we're losing games... today just felt like an unacceptable performance for the first 60 minutes.
"The last 20 was okay, when we made the subs. They gave us some good intent."
Wellington remain 11th on the ladder and Italiano concedes their hopes of making the top six are now over, even though they still have seven games remaining.
"Finals are done," he said. "We're not going to make the finals, even if we win all seven games.
"We still need a lot of things to work for us mathematically. Now we're playing for the pride of the club for the last seven games, and I expect the boys to lift and give something for the fans to be optimistic about.
"I want to see good performances from now until the end of the season. We have to dig deep now as a group and show what we're really made of."
The Phoenix found themselves a goal down little more than two minutes into the match, when diminutive Western midfielder Rhys Bozinovski headed home the first corner of the match, leaving the visitors chasing for the rest of the contest.
Italiano made two changes to the XI that started last week's home defeat to Melbourne City, with Corban Piper and Marco Rojas returning to the starting line-up. Rojas made his second start of the season.
The Phoenix travel again next weekend, to face Sydney FC.
