CARL Robinson does not expect anything flash from blue chip midfielder Joe Ledley but the Jets coach is confident the former Welsh international will do the simple things efficiently against Melbourne City at McDonald Jones Stadium on Monday night .
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Ledley will make his starting debut in place of Angus Thurgate and Robinson is considering a couple of other changes after a torrid 1-0 loss to Brisbane Roar at the Gold Coast on Friday night.
"There are a few boys a little bit tired," Robinson said. "Gus needs a rest. Plus we want to have a look at Joe."
Ledley, 33, won three titles with Celtic, played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace and was one of the stars as Wales progressed to the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championships.
There is no doubting Ledley's pedigree, but he had played only 45 minutes in six months before joining the Jets, where he has made two appearances off the bench.
Ledley will play as a deep-lying midfielder against City.
"Joe and Gus are different types of players," Robinson said. "Joe is more or a six which will allow Steve to play a little bit further up the pitch. I think it is a good balance. Joe will bring composure and I little bit of understanding of the game.
"He will keep things nice and simple to start. As he becomes more and more comfortable and gets more games under his belt, you will see a longer range of passing.
"It is like any senior player when they first come in, they stick to the simple basics of being a connector.
"He understands tactically the role a six has to play because he has done it for so many years. He will bring a level of calmness to our play, not just with the ball. When we don't have the ball he will be in the right areas all the time."
Robinson said the plan with Ledley would be to "try and get him an hour".
"It's important for him and it's important for us," Robinson said. "Because he hasn't played for so long, you can't expect him to be as fit as Stevie. The tempo might be a bit slower, based on the heat and humidity here compared to the UK. He has enough experience to manage his game as well."
The defeat to the Roar ended a six-game unbeaten run and was the first under Robinson, who took the reins on February 5. They are six points outside the six with five games to play.
"Everyone had written us off five weeks ago," Robinson said. "I focus on performance, I focus on the way we play and what I want. We were disappointed with the result against Brisbane. We weren't disappointed with the way we played, but we need to be better in the final third."
Although rotating players, Robinson will stick with the same 3-5-2 formation.
"It is personnel change, rather than system," Robinson said. "We have established a way of playing where we are trying to dominate the ball. Even on Friday, we dominated the ball but we didn't have a shot, in theory, on target.
"Having said that we had four very good chances. Roy has hit the post, Roy should have scored in the first half when he turned down an opportunity, Arroyo should score and Wes Hoolahan on the pull back, it was a great chance."
City sit in second place on 40 points, 19 more than the Jets, and are fresh from a 4-2 rout of the Central Coast on Friday night.
"Each team has their own way of playing," Robinson said. "Melbourne City, being a Manchester based club, want to play a certain way and they do, which I thinks suits us as well. We want to play that way. Then it becomes a football match rather than an attack versus defence session. We found we couldn't break Brisbane down. Credit to Brisbane because they scored early and we allowed them to play 15 yards deeper.
"Melbourne City are a good team. Obviously the league table doesn't lie. They are a team who has their strengths but they also have their weaknesses. We have to focus on how we stop their strengths but also how we can play our way and expose their weaknesses."
