Western Sydney Wanderers head coach Marko Rudan said a testing travel schedule won’t knock his side off course from their strong start to the A-League Men season.
The pause to the competition couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Wanderers, who finished the opening six rounds in second place with four wins, the last of which was a gutsy derby victory over Sydney FC.
They return to action against Wellington Phoenix in Wollongong on Saturday.
Wellington are taking a game to the city as a thank you for hosting them when they were unable to travel freely from New Zealand.
It marks the start of three away games on the spin for Rudan’s side, with fixtures against champions Western United and Brisbane Roar on the horizon before Christmas.
“The mood has been buoyant the last few weeks, the derby (win) allows you to do that and there’s been a step up in intensity,” Rudan said.
“We step up the harder it is and we did that (away to) Melbourne Victory, who are one of the favourites for the competition.
“The bigger the challenge the more we embrace it, we don’t look at it as being (a) tough (run), we are looking forward to it.”
The Wanderers are at full fitness with Oliver Bozanic, who hasn’t played since his move from the Central Coast Mariners, available for selection.
Rudan has taken pride in his side’s defensive resolve this season – they have conceded just four goals so far – but he has stressed the importance of being smart in possession.
“With a new team and so many new players we want to be better with the ball,” he said.
“We want to be a hard team to beat. It normally takes a long time but it’s a reward for the hard work.
“We’ve got a great defensive record but we certainly want to be better with the ball and that’s a big part of our development going forward.”
