Coach Kevin Muscat has demanded Melbourne Victory take responsibility for their "self-inflicted" 4-1 A-League hiding in Newcastle and fix their mental approach to games.
And skipper Carl Valeri has warned his teammates that only they can turn things round - starting by showing better on-field discipline and finishing with a full complement of players on the pitch.
Muscat admitted 10-man Victory were second best against the Jets on Thursday night. It's a pattern that is becoming characteristic of Victory's season, the league heavyweights languishing in the wrong half of the league table having now won only once in eight outings.
It will be a nervous wait for Mark Milligan as the match review panel determine the length of his suspension after the sometime Socceroo skipper was sent off midway through the first half for attempting to headbutt the Jets full back Daniel Georgievski before grabbing his former Victory teammate by the throat.
"Such a disappointing night," Muscat said.
"We started really well, [Kosta Barbarouses] scored a really good goal, and then obviously after that it was nowhere near good enough.
"We've got to take responsibility because tonight was compounded by ourselves.
"We didn't really give ourselves a chance after being so bright and so sharp early on.
"We were nowhere near good enough and it was self-inflicted."
Muscat said the four-day turnaround and travel from Perth had not helped Victory's cause, but was loath to use it as an excuse. Earlier in the week he had been hoping that the close proximity of the two games might have helped his side, as it fostered team bonding and togetherness because Victory travelled directly to the Hunter Valley from West Australia rather than spending a day or two at home in between.
"From where I was the referee was pretty quick to pull his card out so whatever he was seeing he was sure of," he said of the Milligan dismissal.
Valeri said on Friday morning that Victory had to get back to basics.
"We really have to focus on finishing games with 11 men on the park. We all have to make a collective effort to be disciplined.
"I think we started very well. We copped a goal we probably should have defended better, then I liked the reaction.
"At 2-1 down we were still in it but [with 10 men] we just weren't able to work to our capacity. Things just fell apart, it's heartbreaking.
Victory veteran Mark Milligan was sent off for headbutting Newcastle's Daniel Georgevski. Photo: AAP
"The mood is down, we are not in a comfortable position. But we know what we can do to fix it.
"It's the little things. We can't afford the lapses, we have to stay 100 per cent focused for the whole game.
Compounding Milligan's suspension for next Sunday's trip to Wellington is the injury to Rhys Williams, their best and most experienced defender, who limped off in the first half.
Victory will finish this round, depending on results, at least six points behind cross town rivals Melbourne City and at least nine behind champions Sydney, who beat them in last year's grand final. The Jets are, for the moment, on top of the table.
