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Having worked alongside club legend Kevin Muscat, Spaniard Carlos Salvachua is confident he's familiar enough with Melbourne Victory's ambitions and expectations to salvage their A-League season. Appointed in 2018 as an assistant to Muscat, Salvachua will lead Victory for the remainder of 2019-20 after German Marco Kurz's sacking on Wednesday. Victory chairman Anthony Di Pietro said the decision to sack Kurz just 13 games into his reign was based on "performance and results" and a concern the club wasn't meeting it's own lofty expectations. The four-time A-League champions lie sixth on the ladder with just four wins and 15 points so far this season, equalling their worst tallies at the same stage of a campaign from 2007-08 and 2011-12. A staffer at the club for almost 18 months, Salvachua is under no illusions of the challenge that lies ahead of him for the remainder of the campaign. "I know this club is an important team in Australia and always they play to win," the 46-year-old said. "To get an attacking style, an attacking performance, an entertaining style for the members. This is what I trust in the squad of players and we can do it." As the club begins the search for a long-term coach, Salvachua will be thrown straight into the hot seat for Friday's trip to Adelaide at Coopers Stadium. He'll then only have a brief turnaround before hosting Indonesian team Bali FC in an Asian Champions League qualifier on Tuesday. Kurz is the second A-League coach this month to get his marching orders, after ex-Victory boss Ernie Merrick was axed by Newcastle earlier in January. The latest dismissal is set to focus the spotlight more intensely on Western Sydney's Markus Babbel. The struggling Wanderers, who host Perth Glory at Bankwest Stadium on Sunday, lie eighth on the ladder and have won just one of their past 10 matches.
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