Adam Griffiths has delivered one of the all-time great press conference analogies as his case to be the full-time Perth Glory coach becomes simply irresistible.
Glory overcame a 40th-minute red card to Trent Ostler to post a famous 1-0 win over Western Sydney at HBF Park on Friday night.
It marked the first time Perth had posted three wins in a row since 2021, and lifted the back-to-back wooden spooners into the thick of the finals mix.
Glory installed Griffiths as interim coach after sacking David Zdrilic following a 4-0 loss to Melbourne City in round two.
Griffiths suffered competitive losses in his first two matches in the hot seat, but Glory have since recorded away wins over Newcastle and Macarthur, as well as the gutsy 10-man home victory over the Wanderers.
Glory's hierarchy stated they want to appoint an experienced coach.
That initially boded badly for 46-year-old Griffiths, who had a head coaching stint at NSW NPL side Manly United before serving as an A-League assistant under Marko Rudan at Western Sydney and Giancarlo Italiano at Wellington.
But Glory players have embraced Griffiths' bold and attacking mantra, transforming the team from easy beats into a legitimate finals contender.
Importantly, Glory fans - who have seen Richard Garcia, Ruben Zadkovich, Alen Stajcic and Zdrilic come and go in recent years - are demanding Griffiths be appointed.
After the win over Western Sydney, Griffiths delivered one of the most memorable press conferences in A-League history when asked about where things sit in his bid to be appointed as the permanent coach.
"I ask you guys to imagine a sheer cliff, 200 meters high, and a mountain goat sitting on it, and he's eating some moss, some nutrients," Griffiths began.
"But this mountain goat, he's been there for 25 years. He knows the terrain. He knows every little step that he needs to take.
"He's seen other mountain goats stepping in these places. Some are falling, some are still going.
"So this mountain goat loves, loves being on this mountain. He loves the risk. He loves the decision making. He loves everything about it, being on this mountain.
"Now I want you to forget about the mountain goat. Erase it from your memory. Erase it from your grey matter. Delete it.
"I am a lion."
Griffiths' weird and wonderful spiel would rival the best analogies from soccer greats Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Eric Cantona.
But he was also quick to show his serious side when asked about the passion he felt for Glory and his deep desire to lead the team to a brighter future.
"I'm present. I'm fully focused, and I want to lead this team to better things," Griffiths said.
"We're in the league not just to compete, not just to be part of it. We're in the league to win.
"We've put our foot on the accelerator, and we're not taking it off."
