It is all about maintaining the rage when the Central Coast Mariners battle to keep one of their best ever unbeaten runs going against their greatest rivals at Gosford on Saturday night.
It is all about maintaining the rage when the Central Coast Mariners battle to keep one of their best ever unbeaten runs going against their greatest rivals at Gosford on Saturday night.
After six games unbeaten, including five wins, the Mariners are full of confidence ahead of Newcastle’s trip to Bluetongue Stadium.
The Mariners are on a high after last week’s 4-0 demolition of Adelaide, while the Jets are also in fine form after accounting for Melbourne Victory last start.
Mariners coach Graham Arnold and his troops are prepared for a torrid match.
“The good teams are consistent and that’s what we need to show now,” Arnold said.
“We set a standard last week (against Adelaide) and really had that killer instinct. The challenge is to back it up at home in front of our supporters.”
“It’s another huge challenge for us.”
Arnold has a full squad of players to pick from but is unlikely to make changes after last week’s outstanding performance.
Australia Under 23s captain Oliver Bozanic returned from national duty last week but only came off the bench in the second half due to the strong form of veteran John Hutchinson.
Hutchinson has now started the past three games and deserves his spot in the starting side.
“Ollie was a mainstay in my team and now he has to fight his way back into the team,” Arnold said.
“Hutch has done a great job since he came back (from a loan spell in China). The depth in the squad is what we wanted at the start of the year. Everyone is on notice every week.”
