Wellington Phoenix FC will be confident they can end the best winning run in Hyundai A-League history and knock off the high-flying NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers.
Wellington Phoenix FC will be confident they can end the best winning run in Hyundai A-League history and knock off the high-flying NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers.
Wanderers coach Tony Popovic yesterday warned the Wellington situation was a dead ringer for the Round 22 game against a resurgent Perth Gory FC.
Perth had just come off the back of a good win under a new coach and gave the
Wanderers a tough contest.
Wellington beat Melbourne Heart 1-0 last week, their first hit out under interim coach Chris Greenacre.
“We had a similar situation with Perth where they changed their manager and had a very good win at home and we had a tough match against Perth and we expect a tough game against Wellington,” Popovic said.
“They will have some more confidence now and more belief and they will be up against a team full of confidence and belief in the Wanderers in front of our home fans and we are looking to put on a very good performance.”
Popovic said the coaching staff had spoken about the experience against the resurgent Perth Glory and how those games can be difficult.
“The players are the ones that are driving what we do and their mentality has been very good and they look much focused in training,” Popovic said.
“Every club has pressure week in and week out to perform and get results and you could look at it now that we are on top and ask ‘is it a different kind of pressure?-.
“For us ‘no-. We still want to perform the best we can and if we can do that and play well at home we give ourselves a great chance of getting three points.
“That is how were prepare, that is how we focus and that is how we work.”
The Wanderers are on course for their ninth win in a row – an all-time Hyundai A-League record.
The Wanderers face Wellington on Sunday, March 10 at Parramatta Stadium at 5pm.
