Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey says his side is hitting top form at the right end of the season.
Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey says his side is hitting top form at the right end of the season.
The back-to-back A-League champions ended the regular season with a less-than-impressive win-loss record of 10-12, but have showed signs in recent weeks that they may be a contender once the finals series gets underway.
The Roar players are fully fit and in high spirits ahead of next Sunday’s Elimination Final away to Adelaide United, according to Mulvey.
“I think we’ve got some momentum and I believe very strongly that momentum counts for a lot because it brings strong self-belief, it brings the ability to continue doing what you’re doing well,” he said.
The Brisbane coach said the re-jigged finals series still offers adequate advantages to the teams finishing in the top two after the regular season.
“What is always very difficult in sport, if you’re playing a finals series, is to come from fifth or sixth position and actually win the grand final,” Mulvey said.
“And that doesn’t change. You’ve got a massive advantage if you’re playing at home. You’ve got an advantage if you’ve got a week off, you can allow players to rest.
“These are the cards that have been dealt to us and we’re just going to go there and we’re going to play our strongest hand.
Mulvey praised the achievements of the Premiers’ Plate winners Western Sydney Wanderers, but warned that a late-surging Brisbane would be fighting hard for a Grand Final spot.
“I offer my sincerest congratulations to Tony Popovic and Western Sydney Wanderers because it’s a great achievement what they’ve done this year,” he said.
“Forgetting the fact that they’re a start-up club, to win the league at the end of the 27-round competition is a great achievement.
“But this is now a new competition.
“We’re disappointed with our overall season, we’d prefer to be up the table, but we’re coming good at the right end of the season if you look at finals football.
“We want to make amends for what has been a largely disappointing season.
“We’ve turned the corner some time ago and I think the players deserve an awful lot of credit for that because they’ve really knuckled down.
“It’s not just the results that have been good, but the performances have been good as well recently.
“The good news is that there’s still room for improvement.”
