Brett Holman believes Brisbane Roar can still mount an A-League title challenge despite their winless start to the season.
Former Socceroos attacker Holman came off the bench and scored in the 84th minute as the injury-hit Roar drew 1-1 with Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.
It was their third draw in a row and their sixth match on the bounce without a victory -- enough to convince some observers that Brisbane's season is already shot.
But Holman is confident things will turn around soon and believes a win on Friday night against Melbourne City can spark a change in fortunes for the bottom-placed side.
Asked if it was time to reassess the team's goals this season, Holman said: "Not at the moment, just because we believe in what the coaches are doing."
"If you see what we're doing at training... it works. It's just obviously putting that out there on the weekend.
"We've had a slow start, results haven't been like we would like them to have been.
"(But) I think you can see that, especially after going goals down in the last couple of games, that we're still fighting."
Holman said their clash against City at Suncorp Stadium was a good opportunity to chip away at the 10-point gap that has opened up between themselves and the competition's top three sides.
The Roar should regain Jade North (virus) and Fahid Ben Khalfallah (groin) after the pair were late withdrawals from the game against Victory.
However, influential Danish midfielder Thomas Kristensen (hamstring) is at least another week away while new signing Ivan Franjic won't be risked.
City beat Brisbane 2-0 at AAMI Park in the opening round of the season.
Holman, who is yet to reach peak fitness after suffering a pre-season calf injury, hinted that he could remain on the bench for another week.
"You have to be super fit to be in this league and if you're not, you're always going to be second-best," he said.
"I'm feeling good, with some of the injuries we have had it's being a lot more precautious now and not just worrying about the next game, but the next five games."
