JETS coach Craig Deans has reminded his players that self-pity will get them nowhere as they ponder a second successive defeat that left has them last on the A-League ladder.
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Deans and his men were bitterly disappointed to lose 2-1 to Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday night, just a week after their season-opening 1-0 defeat at the hands of Central Coast Mariners.
They are one of three teams yet to bank a competition point, although Perth are still to play a game and Melbourne Victory have set foot on a field only once.
Against both the Mariners and Wanderers, Newcastle had plenty of possession and opportunities and with an ounce of luck could have salvaged a draw from each game.
"I think the big thing is making sure there's a positivity around the club and the town that we're heading in the right direction," Deans said.
"Unfortunately if you don't win, it doesn't matter how well you play. If you look at the score, it just says 2-1. It doesn't say 2-1 and you played well and could have scored some more goals ... it's about winning games."
Deans was confident his men would take those setbacks in their stride and bounce back against competition newcomers Macarthur Bulls at home on Sunday.
You can't walk around feeling sorry for yourself.
- CRAIG DEANS
"You have to be positive in sport, you can't walk around feeling sorry for yourself," he said.
"There's no time for that ... we look forward now. I'm sure there's bigger and better things to come."
Deans was hopeful the new ownership group who took control of the Jets last week would invest in reinforcements for Newcastle's squad.
"We haven't had that conversation, but I think we need to be sensible," Deans said.
"Jut because there is new ownership, we're not going to be throwing around silly money and just buying a player because he's available.
"I think we need to be careful and sensible and strategic with any player we do sign."
The new owners have already moved in the player market by recruiting Young Socceroos midfielder Lukas Prso on loan from Croatia.
The 19-year-old is expected to spend another week in quarantine before he can join his new teammates at his first training session.
"He obviously comes with big raps from national-team coaches, and coaches that he's worked with," Deans said.
"I haven't actually seen him in the flesh. He's in quarantine at the moment and he's got a program that he's working on ... he's still going to be probably three or four weeks away, but he's another body in the middle of the park."
Despite the turmoil of the past couple of months, culminating in the removal of Chinese businessman Martin Lee as club owner, Deans said he could "absolutely" see light at the end of the tunnel. "I wouldn't sit here now if I thought I was wasting my time," he said.
Wanderers coach Carl Robinson, who controversially walked out on the Jets in October to sign a three-year deal with Western Sydney, said he been on the receiving end of a "few explicit words" on his return to McDonald Jones Stadium.
But he wished Newcastle well under their new management.
"There's good people in there, there's good players in there," he said.
"For Australian football in general, we're trying to build the league, it's important that we do that and give young players opportunities so we can't have clubs going under.
"We want to add clubs rather than have them go under. It's an important move. Obviously people have backed it and I want them to do well."