Glory board backs coach Zdrilic to turn things around

Perth Glory's hierarchy have given their 100 per cent backing to under-fire coach David Zdrilic as the club battles dramas both on and off the pitch.

The heat is on Zdrilic following the club's winless start to the season, with Glory conceding a whopping 20 goals across seven games.

Including last season, Glory are now on a 17-match winless run, just two shy of the all-time A-League Men record.

Reports have emerged of disgruntled players within Glory's squad, and it was a bad look when pictures of out-of-favour players Luke Bodnar and Anas Hamzaoui on jet-skis appeared on Instagram during Sunday's 2-0 loss to Melbourne Victory.

Colombian Cristian Caicedo was overlooked for that match after angrily storming off a week earlier against Adelaide when he was substituted.

Zdrilic has already flagged his intention to make some moves during January's transfer window.

Just how many players are shown the door remains to be seen.

Zdrilic signed on as Glory coach on a three-year deal in June, and it seems he will be given time to rebuild the squad.

"The board is fully behind David," Glory chief executive Anthony Radich said.

"We're well aware of the squad we have and what David is trying to do.

"We've got quite a young squad, and we've had our trials and tribulations in some of the players that have come in, in terms of not having done full pre-seasons or coming in late.

"So it hasn't been easy for David at all, but the board are fully behind David to get through this difficult period.

"It's not going to be easy, but in terms of the calibre of David and what he brings to the club and his coaching ability, that's not in question. They're 100 per cent behind him."

Radich said how many players come in during January's transfer window will be largely dictated by how many want to leave.

"We've got a fairly big squad. There'll be some latitude," Radich said.

"But I think the scope of that latitude will be dictated with what happens with our existing squad, whether players want to depart.

"But yeah, the idea will be to bring in a few."

Most of the squad were already in place when Zdrilic arrived, and January will give him the chance to bring in the type of players he needs for his high-pressing style of play.

"If it's not right, we'll fix it. If something is not working, we're going to find the right balance," Zdrilic said.

Glory were further rocked last week when the Australian Tax Office launched a wind-up action against Perth Glory Football Pty Ltd over an unpaid tax bill of $946,879.55.

Perth owner Ross Pelligra has indicated he will quickly pay off the debt, with the club claiming they were unaware of the liability because the document had not been received.

Glory will be back in action on Saturday night when they host fellow strugglers Newcastle Jets at HBF Park.