Star Gold Coast United midfielder Jason Culina insists the club’s championship dream is still very much alive despite its recent form slump.
Having kept pace with premiers Sydney FC and perennial powerhouse Melbourne Victory in the opening 25 rounds of the campaign, the Hyundai A-League newcomers ended the regular season with consecutive defeats to finish in third spot.
Miron Bleiberg’s men now face a sudden-death semi-final against the unpredictable Newcastle Jets at Skilled Park on Saturday night.
But while he admits turning things around is never easy, Culina remains supremely confident heading into his first finals series in more than a decade.
“We’ve actually got a full-strength team which is good going into the finals, so that’s a positive we can look at and we’ve got the depth in the team to go all the way in the finals,” Culina told Sportal.
“In the change room the feeling is good, the mood is very confident and we look forward to it.”
“It’s new for a lot of the guys and finals football always brings that bit of excitement and a bit of anticipation and the boys I feel are ready for it.”
“It’s never easy after losing a couple of games on the trot but we start fresh take one game at a time and try to win this weekend.”
Despite his confidence, Culina remains wary of a Jets line-up that has also limped into the finals with four-straight losses.
But the 29-year-old played down the significance of his battle with his father Branko, who just happens to coach the Jets.
“At the end of the day people probably forget that it’s Gold Coast against Newcastle not Culina against Culina and I think that’s probably the most important thing,” Jason said.
“Although it’s the old family rivalry sort of thing we don’t really talk about it. We don’t share too much information or really talk about football in general.”
“Come the weekend it’s going to be Gold Coast against Newcastle and that’s the way we like it.”
Asked if Branko’s intimate knowledge of his son’s game gives the Jets defenders any advantage, Jason explained: “The coach can give instructions to players but at the end of the day it’s up to the players to go out there and do the job.”
“It’s difficult because if you worry too much about one player there’s another 10 players on the field. Like I said you’ve got to look at it as a whole – team against team.”
The Jets have a 2-1 win-loss record against Gold Coast heading into Saturday’s clash having won the opening two meetings between the clubs before suffering a 2-0 defeat at Skilled Park last month.
