Newcastle striker Michael Bridges says it is important for the Jets to maintain their ‘winning mentality’ heading into this Sunday’s clash with a star-studded Sydney United line-up at Edensor Park in Sydney.
The Jets have won their first two trial matches this season, 2-1 against the Melbourne Heart and 3-1 over a combined Newcastle side.
Bridges said it was important for the team to maintain that momentum when it takes on a Sydney United line-up boosted by the addition of star players such as Qantas Socceroos heroes Craig Moore, Tony Popovic and Zeljko Kalac.
“We need to develop a winning mentality from the start. It doesn’t matter who the opposition is, if it is Melbourne Heart or a team from the local area, we have to go and win games,” Bridges said.
“We got off to a good start against the Heart. It wasn’t an easy task. But it never was going to be. They have got some good players.”
“But the boys have done a fantastic job winning two from two and hopefully we can take that into this weekend’s game against Sydney.”
Bridges acknowledged that the game was likely to draw a big crowd as fans come to bid farewell to talisman goalkeeper Kalac and a reported appearance by Mark Viduka, but said the Jets must maintain their focus and treat it like any other game.
“I think it is great for the fans to see players like (Tony) Popovic, (Mark) Rudan and (Zeljko) Kalac but like I said it is another game,” he said.
“These guys are experienced players – the might not have the legs anymore but they can still play football. It is not going to be easy but we have to treat it in the same mindset – we have to go and get another result.”
After struggling to sixth place last season with a squad decimated by injuries, Bridges said he felt the Jets would be a much tougher proposition this year after a good recruitment drive and the return of some injured personnel.
“The squad and the team in general is a lot stronger than last year and we have a lot more depth, especially in some positions where we struggled last year with injuries,” Bridges said.
“The competition for spots is fantastic and we have players who can come in and do the job.”
