Just six points out of the top 6 with just 5 rounds left, the Melbourne Heart know Sunday's home game against Wellington is virtually must win.
Original signing Jason Hoffman has witnessed plenty of changes at Melbourne Heart. Source: News Limited
JASON Hoffman just smiles when it’s put to him that he is a survivor.
By definition at Melbourne Heart he is given that he and Nick Kalmar are the only two original signings to have played all four seasons at the club in their entirety.
But when you consider that the 25-year-old has been, until this season, far from a regular starter under John van ‘t Schip and John Aloisi, he must have been doing something right to maintain his spot on the list.
Having made the transition from being an attacking player to a right back, Hoffman is now flying.
He’s made 17 starts this season — the most of any year at either Heart or original club Newcastle — and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he is in contention to win the club’s best and fairest award.
But Hoffman admits there was a time when he doubted whether things would work out for him.
So concerned was he that he was playing each week just to maintain his spot in the side, Hoffman said there were times where he tried too hard and others that he lived in fear of making mistakes.
He refers to such a mentality as his “biggest demon” and something he had to change.
“You’ve got to be honest with yourself,” he says.
Tara Rushton and Mark Rudan preview the clash between Melbourne Heart and Wellington Phoenix..
“There was a period there where I was a utility player, I guess just a good squad player, but I knew if I kept working hard and survived that period then I would get my chance to become a regular.
“Definitely there were times where I sat back and thought: ‘Where is my best position? Where do I fit in to an A-League team?’
“Those thoughts can go through your mind and you wonder how I might be able to take my career forward and achieve the goals I want to achieve.
“But in working really hard and being open to change this door opened for me to become a right back and I’m doing my best every day to try and take that opportunity with both hands.”
So honest in his own self-assessment is he that Hoffman even speaks openly about past conversations he had with fans about his form.
“I’d go to promotions and some people would say that they’d like to see more from me and that they were disappointed in me and whatnot,” he says.
“When I came in the past and I wasn’t playing at my best I could understand their frustrations. But all you can ever do as a player is try and work hard ... and if you keep doing that over time then hopefully the fans will change.
“So far this year I’ve had a lot of good feedback from the fans and I guess that makes me pretty happy.”
Out of contract at season’s end, Hoffman’s form should see him secure a new deal.
But how, given that “squad player” tag he put on himself, has he been able to maintain his place at Heart previously?
“My biggest demon, I guess, was to cut the nonsense out and get rid of all that pressure I was putting on myself so I could perform on match day like I was at training,” he says.
“Maybe that’s why I have been a survivor, because the coaches have seen that potential in me. This season I’ve worked on it very hard, mentally I feel like I’m in a good place and am performing better because of it.
“It’d be great to stay at the club too with all the stuff happening with Manchester City, so let’s hope that survivor tag continues.”
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