Wellington Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante wants his side to become more united.
The Phoenix are enduring a wretched run of results, their 5-1 humiliation at the hands of Melbourne City on Saturday was their third straight, and they're now five points off a playoff spot.
"We just can't accept as a group that we lost 5-1 and think 'oh well, let's get on with it'," Durante said.
"There needs to be hurt, and people feeling down about and thinking 'how can I get better and how can I improve the team and let's get out of this together'.
Centre back Durante wasn't part of the side that lost 5-1, but he was there for the previous two fixtures, neither of which were glowing defensive performances as the club picked up two 3-1 losses.
Prior to their match with Melbourne City, midfielder Vince Lia said the players were struggling to work out what was going wrong. But Durante said today that after some honest meetings this week the team was now on the same wave length about what was required going forward.
The skipper didn't directly disclose what was discussed in the meetings, but often referred to the team needing more unity.
"That unity is what will get us out. If people pick fights or don't want to admit mistakes then that won't be accepted," Durante said.
"We're going to have a good week of preparation, and we're going to leave the field on Friday afternoon knowing that we're ready, organised, and we're going to repay the faith of everybody for that performance with a positive result on Saturday [against Brisbane Roar]."
Meanwhile, Durante's keen to see the club offer new deals to off-contract veterans Lia and Glen Moss.
Moss has been linked with a move to South Africa, while Lia, the club's only foundation player, is yet to be offered a new deal for next season.
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