Perth Glory are bracing themselves for a torrid week as the inquisition begins into arguably their worst ever A-League performance -- a 4-0 shellacking by Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.
Once Australian soccer's powerhouse, the Glory's players barely gave off enough energy to provide a candle-glow in a miserable, soulless train wreck of a performance at Telstra Dome.
In a competition noted for its closely competitive nature, the Glory were sub-standard -- reminiscent of the now defunct New Zealand Knights and their uncompetitive first season in which they finished 20 points adrift of the second-last team.
The Victory, minus five first-choice players, toyed with Perth throughout showing all the passion, teamwork and quality the Glory were lacking.
Now bottom of the table with just one win from seven matches and having conceded 20 goals this season, Glory coach David Mitchell's future will come into question amid widespread rumours of player disquiet.
But at a crisis meeting scheduled for Monday, owner Tony Sage is more likely to turn his blowtorch on his underperforming players after a performance he tagged "a debacle".
Sage is believed to favour sticking with Mitchell, believing the club needs stability rather than its fifth coach in less than four years.
Perth defender Jamie Harnwell, one of few Glory players to actually emerge with any credit on Saturday night, said he believed the players had given their best.
But they still needed to take a good look at their performance level if the club was to emerge from its current plight.
"Everyone's given 100 per cent ... but I don't think everyone played well and we've got to look at that and examine ourselves," Harnwell said.
"If I thought that anyone went out there and wasn't giving 100 per cent, I'd bloody knock their block off in the change rooms afterwards. I wouldn't accept that.
"For whatever reasons, we're not doing it, and it's the players' responsibility. We didn't deliver."
With the international break next week, the Glory now have a fortnight to sort out their crisis before their next A-League match against Sydney FC in Perth.
