Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou lashed out at critics of his new formation, declaring the only way they'll find a perfect system is if they turn on the hot water at home.
For the second straight game, Australia lined up in a 3-2-4-1 formation as goals from Jackson Irvine and Mathew Leckie inspired a 2-0 win over United Arab Emirates in Tuesday night's World Cup qualifier.
Australia 2-0 United Arab Emirates
The new formation had been a point of contention following last week's 1-1 draw with Iraq, with critics questioning the timing its introduction and the lack of defensive cover out wide.
But Postecoglou was clearly frustrated with the criticism following the win at Allianz Stadium, claiming he had always said he would try to play attacking football that included an element of defensive risk.
"It seems I've been held accountable for doing what I said I'd do this week and that's the bit I struggle with. Perhaps if I was a foreign coach we'd all sit back and say 'what a genius'," Postecoglou said.
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Australia's boss added: "You know what, if someone's got a system out there that stops oppositions from doing anything, I think it's called the '11 against nothing' [system] but, you know what, it's a game of football.
"We've got to try and score goals, which we did. We created a number of opportunities, which we probably should have scored from and… like I said, if people want the perfect system it's probably their hot water system at home but it ain't a football system."
Postecoglou singled out centre-back Trent Sainsbury for the way he organised Australia's defence against the UAE.
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Playing in his first match at any level since November, Sainsbury was critical to Australia's victory although both he and his fellow Socceroos defenders were scrambling at times to keep the likes of Omar Abdulrahman and Ali Mabkhout scoreless.
Postecoglou highlighted Sainsbury's leadership qualities as the central man in a back three that also included Bailey Wright and Milos Degenek.
"Trent was great tonight and even defensively, not just his defensive work but he organised the back three really well and he was talking a lot out there," Australia's boss said.
"It's great to see him. The concern coming into camp was that he hasn't played for ages and we really had to be careful with him.
"I didn't want to expose him to the ground in Iran [where the Socceroos played Iraq] but I knew tonight he'd be ready to come in."
