In-form Glory striker Chris Harold admits he is riding a wave on confidence and hopes to continue his rich vein of scoring form when Perth host the struggling Mariners on Saturday night at nib Stadium.
The 23-year-old has netted six goals in his last eight matches and is now Glory’s second top scorer this season behind Diego Castro.
The WA local has been working with former Glory front man Branko Jelic in recent months and the partnership appears to be paying dividends for Kenny Lowe’s side.
“People don’t always appreciate the psychological element [of scoring] and in football especially,” Harold told the West Australian newspaper.
“It’s something you can’t explain but it’s a confidence thing. I’ve been lucky to be in form and I don’t want that to stop … I’d like to get one at the weekend.”
Glory have surged into the top six after winning six out of their last seven and will fancy their chances of securing a home final with matches against lower ranked opponents in the weeks to come.
Perth host the bottom-placed Mariners this weekend before back-to-back away fixtures against Wellington Phoenix and Newcastle Jets.
Harold insists the Glory are now in the box seat to secure a finals berth and says their fearless approach can cause plenty of problems in the post-season.
“We are in the top six now, it’s ours to lose. We’ve worked so hard to get where we are, we don’t want to throw it away,” Harold told the newspaper.
“We’ve played really well in the last couple of months and had some really big scalps, a big win over Brisbane. Those kind of results show that we are not afraid of anyone and we can beat anyone on our day.”
Meanwhile, English Premier League blockbusters could soon be played in Perth as part of plans to boost the Western Australian economy.
Crown Resorts chairman Robert Rankin believes the under-construction Perth Stadium – with a capacity of 60,000 – could be the perfect venue to host world-class football matches.
“As much as I love the West Coast Eagles and the Dockers, I think the odd English Premier League match would be pretty good,” Rankin told the Australian.
“Having watched the odd football match in hot, humid climates a few hours to our north, I’d much prefer to watch it under a blue sky here in Perth. I think it would be fantastic.”
