Melbourne City striker Tim Cahill insists he’s not concerned with the hype surrounding the club’s Westfield FFA Cup Semi Final draw against Melbourne Victory, preferring to focus on making a positive start to the upcoming Hyundai A-League season.
City will square off against its Melbourne rivals at AAMI Park on October 25, in a contest which will take place only 10 days after derby hostilities are resumed in the A-League.
The two Derby fixtures provide City with an early opportunity to secure a maiden FFA Cup final berth and gain a psychological advantage over its adversaries, but Cahill urged his side not to get sucked in by the whirlwind build-up to the matches.
“It is what it is. It’s nice to play against a big team in another Derby. It’s not something I’m really focused on to be totally honest with you,” he said.
“We have Wellington to look forward to in Round 1. We know there’s two derbies coming shortly after and then we have Perth.
“I think for us it’s just about being competitive and starting off well. We laid down a good foundation in the FFA Cup Quarter Final with the way we played against one of the top teams in the league in Western Sydney.
“It’s going to be very competitive. Derbies are always nice but it’s not something I am focusing on.”
Having dismantled the Western Sydney Wanderers to reach the last four of the tournament, Cahill believes the resounding 4-1 win has laid the foundations for the Club to make a fast start to the A-League season.
“We’ve got a young team, we’ve got eight new players. We had a couple of bad results (in pre-season against Wellington and Newcastle) but trial games are there to prepare and have those rotations and try different formations.
“But when it comes to game time, it’s all business.
“When we played that night (against Western Sydney) we needed to see where we were at physically, mentally and as a team and then we can work off a basis. We just played (a pre-season friendly) against Auckland City and learned a lot there and then we have a big start to the season.
“We just focus on ourselves. Regardless of the Semi Finals our group of players need to take it one game at a time and all of us will contribute as a group every game to be available for the next match.
“The foundations have been set but it’s going to be exciting.”
City will kick start its Hyundai A-League campaign with a clash against Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium on October 8.
