Jets coach Craig Deans vented his frustration in losing "targetted" playmaker Ramy Najjarine to injury, but he has again put his faith in Luka Prso to step into the void against Wellington Phoenix on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Najjarine was ruled out of the match at McDonald Jones Stadium after having scans on a fresh ankle injury sustained in the 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory last Sunday.
It was his return match after missing two games because of another ankle knock.
Both times, Prso has stepped in with success, helping the Jets to a 1-0 win over Melbourne City and scoreless draw with Brisbane as part of a five-game unbeaten run which has lifted them from last to sixth place.
Deans hoped for more points with Prso filling in against the cellar-dwellers.
"The boys who are starting every game are doing well," Deans said.
"We lose Ramy from the starting team but Luka was possibly a bit unlucky to miss out last week anyway, and that's the beauty of having a bit of strength now.
"Luka can come straight back in. A different type of player to Ramy, so he can pose a different problem for Wellington, from the first game.
"It's disappointing for Ramy not to be there but the stability is there with Luka coming in."
Prso debuted off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Western Sydney on January 29 before coming into the starting side for Najjarine against City on February 7.
"It's a very similar situation," Deans said.
"Luka came in and started and he got through a good 60-odd minutes in that game.
"He's another two, three weeks fitter than he was then.
"If we can get him through 70, 80 or 90, if he gets there, then good. If not we've still got Ali Abbas on the bench who's coming back to real strength and fitness."
Deans said Najjarine was kicked in the first half against Victory before coming off after an hour.
"I think from the club's point of view and football's point of view, you want to see good players playing all the time," he said.
"I know [Wellington coach] Ufuk Talay spoke about it in his press conference, about good players getting targetted and kicked, and I obviously think the same is happening with Ramy.
"He'll miss probably another week or two now, so he misses four games through injury and it's not soft tissue injuries, it's kicks to the ankles from tackles and that's disappointing."
Jason Hoffman (groin), who had scans this week, is again sidelined but Deans said "it's not serious but it's just enough to slow him down for a couple of weeks".
After losing their first four games, Newcastle started their unbeaten streak with a 2-1 win over Phoenix on January 24 at WIN Stadium. Wellington are now last after three losses in their past four games of a busy schedule.
Deans, though, said his side remained on guard.
"We had the same situation against Victory on the weekend and we did speak about that," he said. "About the fact we know what it's like to be in that situation and we know how hard we worked and how determined we were to get out of it ... so we know what's going to come."
"It's just a matter of us being switched on enough and being focused enough, determined and hard-working enough to get over that and then obviously I think we have enough quality in our players to win the game."