Whether the pressure has lifted or not, Brisbane Roar coach Ruben Zadkovich only cares about lifting his A-League Men team out of the doldrums.
For the first time this season, the Roar walked away from the pitch with the three points after prevailing 4-3 away against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
It was the last-placed team's first win since April 2024.
Zadkovich has been under heavy fire since assuming his post in January last year after then-head coach Ben Cahn left on medical grounds.
Cahn had lasted only five games as a successor to interim Luciano Trani, who filled in when Ross Aloisi left the club just two months into the 2023/24 season.
Before their round-15 victory over Sydney, the Roar were the only team without a win.
So poor has Brisbane's start to the season been that they became the owners of the worst record from the first 12 games of a season in the 20-year history of the competition.
Asked if he felt a weight off his shoulders following their gutsy win, Zadkovich said he has always been unbothered in the face of outside pressure.
"I enjoy the tough times because I feel like they're the times that shape you," Zadkovich said.
"I've had a lot of people say to me 'stay strong, keep going' and I kind of laugh, because in my head, I think, 'What's the alternative? To roll over?'
"That's not something that's in my arsenal.
"I wasn't employed by this club to roll over under pressure.
"I was brought in when the club had lost seven of the last eight games and it was to try and build out of this situation.
"I've been in football long enough to know there are a lot of teams that roll over in these types of situations, but it's not my staff and not my players."
Zadkovich believed their performance against the Sky Blues held promise for a possible climb up the table.
His men drew first blood within the opening 15 minutes courtesy of a Ben Halloran goal, before breaking out to a three-goal buffer in the second half.
Sydney substitutes Tiago Quintal and Jordan Courtney-Perkins breathed life into the contest with a goal apiece in the final 20 minutes of regulation time but the Roar held their nerve.
"They're a bit of a sleeping giant Sydney, because they're always a threat, no matter what the score line is," Zadkovich said.
"We played some really, really good football tonight.
"We've had a lot of close losses where we've performed better than the opposition and probably dominated in nearly every metric.
"To break that habit with a performance that was on the ball and brave and playing football the way we want to play it.
"That's probably what I'm most happy about."
