Vidmar backs Maclaren to find form as he plots Christmas Derby upset

As he prepares for the Christmas Derby, Melbourne City boss Aurelio Vidmar is backing captain Jamie Maclaren to find form and shrug off Asian Cup disappointment.

A Christmas Derby clash with Melbourne Victory looming, Melbourne City boss Aurelio Vidmar is backing Jamie Maclaren to shrug off the disappointment of missing out on selection in the Socceroos’ squad for the Asian Cup and find his goalscoring touch in the A-League Men. 

The all-time leading A-League Men scorer, Maclaren was one of the more notable absences from the 26-player squad that Graham Arnold named for the Asian Cup on Tuesday – Mitch Duke, Bruno Fornaroli, Kusini Yengi, and John Iredale all preferred by the Australian coach to fill his striking roles. 

Despite scoring a hattrick against Bangladesh during the November international window, Maclaren's — and City’s — difficult start to the 2023-24 campaign had put his position in the squad on the bubble, even before he revealed last week that he’d been battling a persistent ankle injury. 

“Yeah, I’m not going,” Maclaren said on Thursday, a day before the squad was revealed.

“I’m a realist. I understand. I’ve had some niggling things bothering me at the moment. They still are.

“My last game for the national team was a hat-trick but I know my position under Arnie, and it’s not a starter and I have to accept that.”

After suffering a hamstring injury that ruled him out for four-to-six weeks in Asian Champions League (ACL) action last week, Mat Leckie was also a notable absence from Arnold’s squad; Riley McGree, who recently returned to full training with Middlesbrough, preferred in his place as an attacking utility. 

It rendered veteran left-back Aziz Behich as the lone City representative headed to Qatar, ruling him out of a minimum of four to a maximum of seven games – fixtures in which his coach earmarked Scott Galloway and Harry Politidis as potential replacements.

"[Maclaren has] had a private conversation with Arne and I think they just had an open and honest dialogue, which was pretty good,” Vidmar said. 

“He's accepted it and it is part of sport, unfortunately. But he's in a really good headspace. 

“For us, what's important is that had they all been fit they would have more than likely all gone and then that would have made us suffer a little bit in terms of losing quite important players and numbers.”

Despite not firing on all cylinders, Maclaren still has eight goals in 17 appearances across all competitions this season, as well as an assist in the A-League men. 

And despite his nagging ankle problem, the injury-enforced absences of Andrew Nabbout and Leckie have also seen him play every minute of every league fixture this season, his first as City skipper. 

“He's had a bit of a rough season so far but not through a lack of effort,” said Vidmar. “He's always putting the effort he's making runs – we could be pretty culpable also, not recognizing some of the runs that he's made. 

“Yes, he's fluffed a couple of things in front of goal, which a normal striker does – it's absolutely normal. 

“But with strikers, it's natural. They're always there. They're always hungry to score. Then you go through purple patches and also you go through some lean times and he's somewhere where he's scored a couple of goals… he just needs a little bit of continuity. 

“With strikers, once they start to bang in one or two, you'll see a succession of goals come in pretty quickly.” 

And for Vidmar, there would be no better stage for Maclaren to start to bang in multiple goals than Saturday evening’s Melbourne Derby. 

City enters the traditional Yuletide clash seventh on the A-League Men table – their lowest ranking headed into this fixture in almost a decade – with just three wins to their names, a goal difference of minus-three, and Vidmar just months into his tenure after replacing the sacked Rado Vidošić after round two. 

Whereas they are unbeaten in their last five games, their most recent fixtures have increased frustration amongst a fan base that has watched them win three-straight premierships: a 1-1 draw with Zhejiang ensuring a group stage exit from the Asian Champions League and their 3-3 draw with the Mariners last Sunday only secured via a 92nd-minute equaliser. 

Victory, in contrast, sits second and stands alone as the last remaining unbeaten side in the competition, taking four wins and four draws and possessing a plus-eight goal difference that is equal best in the league. 

“Since I've been here we've done a lot of good things, but also we're suffering in some areas,” said Vidmar. “And that's just a continual process, I'm new, we've got 12 new players. 

“[But] derbies are like that, where you can have a team at the top, you can have a team on the bottom and then anything can happen. 

“And they're exciting. They're unpredictable, especially. Victory is certainly having a pretty good year, there's no question about that -- after the last couple that they've had. So they're firing. 

“But anything could happen. I just expect a tough derby. I think that's what everyone wants and hopefully, as much as it's tough, it's a nice game of football.”

Their game built around monopolising possession, City will need to clamp down on transition if they are to score an unlikely upset – Victory putting Sydney FC to the sword on the counter last week on the way to a 3-0 win. 

In former City stars Fornaroli and Daniel Arzani, as well as Zinédine Machach and Nishan Velupilay, Melbourne’s navy-blue contingent possess one of the most in-form attacks in the A-League Men at present – Fornaroli having scored 12 times in eight games in pressing an irresistible case for a Socceroos’ call-up. 

“That's certainly an area that we've worked on and we've discussed, that they are super dangerous,” Vidmar said. “They've got the wide boys and… good, capable midfielders. 

“They've got a lot of weapons and are a dangerous team for sure. 

“But we've got to think about what we're doing. We totally respect not just the opposition we're playing tomorrow, but we respect all the teams that we play against. We've got to play our game. 

“The more we have the ball, the better it is for us. We don't like it when we don't have the ball. So we've just got to manage our difficult moments a lot better.”

Aside from Leckie and Nabbout, Vidmar expects to have a full squad to choose from for the derby, with Maclaren described as having a good weekend on the training track as he manages his ankle. 

Though still a way off returning, Nabbout joined the group for training for the first time in recent days as he looks to recover from a pre-season Achilles injury, while Leckie has begun individual running.