Sandringham won four of its first five games this year, with a draw against Box Hill the only minor hiccup in what was an outstanding response to a lacklustre 2013 campaign.
“We were very happy with the way the team was playing early. The first month was great with everyone up and running,” McPhee told SAINTS.com.au this week.
“We didn’t have too many injuries and our side was full of quality players pushing for higher honours.”
However St Kilda’s spate of casualties began to take its toll before the bye last weekend and the effects filtered through to Sandringham against Footscray and Werribee in consecutive losses earlier this month.
“We lost our way a little bit in the last couple of weeks and we’ve had a few selection issues because we lost so many players to injury,” McPhee said.
“But even then, I think our attitude just came off a bit. I still like to think that there is enough quality in our team to be competitive, which we haven’t been in the last two games.”
Despite a below par couple of matches, the Zebras coach is confident his team can recapture its early season form in the all-important winter months.
“I’m hoping we can reset a bit after the break and the boys can be in a good frame of mind. We need them to show good leadership when we are under the pump,” he said.
“The alignment has been good, the relationship between the two clubs is working well and our performances have been good on the whole.”
With the VFL state game this weekend, Sandringham’s next official match is not until Saturday June 7 against the Northern Blues at Visy Park.
The Zebras will take on Casey this Friday in a 'scratch match.' 2pm start at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.
