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On the eve of his side's clash against an equally-desperate Melbourne City, Smith said Roar's players don't need to change a thing off the field, dismissing speculation of team unrest in the wake of Miller's departure.

Smith admitted he and his team-mates were saddened by the Miller situation, described in a Roar press release as a decision reached "by mutual consent" between both parties, amid rumours the midfielder had fallen out with coaching staff.

"Liam played a massive part in what was done last year but unfortunately he has decided to move on," he said.

"The team is all on the same page.

"We all know where we want to be and how we will get there.

"We are working hard to turn this around."

A weekend off due to a scheduling clash with Western Sydney Wanderers' AFC Champions League commitments gave Roar a chance to ponder its plight.

It wasn't pretty.

No A-League team has claimed back-to-back championships after losing its first two games and no A-League defending champion has had less than four competition points after three rounds and still managed to make the top six.

Smith said Brisbane - winner of three of the last four championships - had to raise the bar again to save its season.

"The league is getting stronger," he said. "It's now our challenge to keep raising that level.

"We've been in every game the last couple of weeks, parts of games proved we are not too far off.

"From where I am standing the boys are certainly keen to kick-start the season."

Brisbane has struggled starting life without Besart Berisha (Victory) and Ivan Franjic (Russia) with first choice goalkeeper Michael Theo (broken wrist) also sidelined.

Smith said the only frustration players had endured was not being able to play last weekend.

"You spend an awful lot of time in the pre-season, then get into a bit of a groove with three games and then we have the weekend off," he said.

"But we have had the extra week to work on a couple of things that we didn't do so well in the first three rounds."