Newcastle coach Branko Culina says he will leave all family feelings aside when the Jets host his son Jason’s Gold Coast United side in Sunday afternoon’s Hyundai A-League match at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
Branko admitted he was his son’s biggest fan but he wouldn’t be drawn into singling him out for special attention when the pair make history by playing the first father v son clash in the history of the Hyundai A-League.
“I don’t think I have missed a game of his since he started playing first grade football whether it be here or overseas,” Branko said. “I am his biggest fan and his biggest critic and I know what he is capable of but Sunday we forget about all that.”
“We are not playing Jason Culina; we are playing Gold Coast. We are playing the so-called glamour team of the competition that everyone aspires to beat. Jason is just part of that juggernaut, he is an exceptional player but he is just another player.”
“There is no point in shutting down Jason and letting Smeltz, Porter and Caravella and Pantelidis run loose. We have a got plan to make sure we have all our bases covered and Jason is just one of those.”
“We just have to ensure that we do our job well and be aware of what the Gold Coast is capable of and what Jason is capable of and then be good enough to close them down. I believe we are.”
Branko recognised that the Gold Coast was the form team of the competition so far, winning all three of its opening games, but he said the Jets wouldn’t be overawed by their highly-fancied opponents.
“We are at home but no-one really expects us to win, but I think we have a damn good chance,” he said.
“We are hurting after Perth enough though we don’t want to dwell on it – that is in the past. We need to rebound and the best way to show we’ve got what it takes is to bounce back from a loss and unfortunately for Jason and the Gold Coast guys they are meeting us at a bad time.”
“The onus is on us to make things happen we are playing at home and we are not going to just sit back and say ‘let’s hope for the best and hope they have an off day and we might just sneak a draw’.”
“We have enough quality ammunition in our side. We have a plan where we feel we can hurt them. Adelaide did it for parts of the game against them, Brisbane did it for parts of the game and we feel we are every bit as good as those two teams.”
“We will make it difficult for Gold Coast not only when they-ve got the ball but when we’ve got the ball we can hit the right places where they are weakest.”
Whatever the result of Sunday’s fixture Branko said he and Jason will remain best of mates after the match.
“We spoke about it last night and I am driving him back to Sydney after the game because he is flying to Korea on Monday morning so he is staying at my place,” Branko said.
“So the only way that trip is going to be a good one is if Newcastle gets something out of the game.”
