Melbourne Victory's James Troisi would sacrifice his impressive scoring form if it would guarantee a win for his side as they look to avoid a fourth straight defeat in Saturday's derby.
Troisi returned to Victory in August with a reputation as a marksman, with the versatile forward having struck 15 times in his previous stint wearing the Big V in 2013-14.
It took the 28-year-old nine A-League matches to open his account this season but Troisi insists part of the reason was a change in responsibilities, with Victory coach Kevin Muscat utilising the Australia international as his chief playmaker in 2016-17.
Victory & City won't survive derby defeat
Since breaking his duck against Newcastle Jets in Victory's first match of 2017, Troisi has scored four goals in six games but would happily not score again this season if it meant his team got back to winning ways.
Victory have lost three straight games heading into this week's derby against Melbourne City at Etihad Stadium.
"You get one [goal] and two and the rest start to come," Troisi said on Thursday when asked what had changed for him in front of goal.
"It's always more special when you're scoring goals but it's not like I was missing sitters. I didn't really have many opportunities and now the ball's falling at my feet and I'm putting it in the back of the net.
"I find my role here this time at Victory a little bit different. I'm creating a lot more chances for the boys… which as a number 10 is all you have to do.
"If I can score then it's fantastic as well but in saying that the most important thing is that we're picking up the points."
Archie Thompson continues career
Picking up the points is something Victory haven't been doing recently, with last week's 2-1 loss to Sydney FC seeing Troisi and Co. drop 11 behind the A-League leaders with 10 matches remaining before finals.
The Premier's Plate is effectively out of reach but Troisi is confident Victory can turn their form around in February where - after City - they play three sides currently in the bottom half of the table.
Getty
"It was a pretty difficult couple of weeks. We've had a normal week coming into this game on Saturday, so we're looking forward to it," he said.
"I think the most important thing is the football we've been playing the last two games. We definitely should have got points out of those games, so we're playing some good football and we're in a good way at the moment.
"So we're looking to rectify, I guess, the points we haven't picked up."
Following the derby, Victory will take on Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)