Central Coast are prepared for a Cup final type atmosphere when they tackle the desperate Melbourne Heart at AAMI Park in the A-League on Friday night.
While the Mariners are safely in second spot and looking good ahead of the upcoming finals, the Heart are in seventh place and need three points to keep finals hopes alive.
“This is it for them,” coach Graham Arnold said.
“They lose and it’s probably all over for them so we have to be ready for everything on Friday night.”
“They’re going into the match knowing a draw isn’t even good enough. But we’re in good form and have plenty of confidence so we can handle it.”
Victory on Friday night will all but secure the Mariners second spot with two games to play.
In a big final week, the Mariners play a make-up game against Gold Coast on Wednesday night in Queensland before a final round showdown against Newcastle at Gosford on Sunday week.
“It’s the fourth time we’ve had a midweek game this year,” Arnold said.
“I’m not too worried. After the Newcastle game we’ll have a good week of training before the finals start.”
Arnold confirmed he was expecting to go into Friday night’s clash against Heart with an unchanged line-up after Saturday night’s outstanding 2-1 victory against Adelaide at Hindmarsh Stadium.
