Melbourne skipper Kevin Muscat is confident that the quick turnaround between games will not affect either club going into Tuesday’s top-of-the-table clash against Adelaide at Telstra Dome.
Melbourne is coming off a four-day break and Adelaide just three days going into the rescheduled Round 15 match between the Hyundai A-League’s top two teams. But that’s not a major concern for Muscat, who says the fitness and motivation are there to stave off any concerns over fatigue.
“This is the business end of the season now. If you can’t get up for these games, top two. It’s comes around very quickly, but we’re fresh and we’ll be okay come tomorrow night,” Muscat said.
Coach Ernie Merrick will play his cards close to his chest ahead of the match. He has named an extended squad which includes international duo Grant Brebner and Jose Luis Lopez, but will not decide on his final XI until shortly before the game.
Meanwhile Muscat said the game was vitally important to Melbourne’s ambitions of claiming the premiership and the spot in the AFC Champions League which comes with that. A loss would leave Melbourne four points adrift of the Reds who will still have a match in hand against Queensland.
“It will go a long way to us finishing top of the table. Saying that, there’s still a lot of teams in and about us, Adelaide still have to play Queensland. There are still a lot of games with meaningful results. It’s possibly not the end of the road if we don’t win, but it’d be nice,” he said.
“It’s the only trophy that is available at the moment, finishing top of the league, It’s extremely important to me, It’s not the end of the world if we don’t, but it’s important because, it’s a trophy you set out at the start of the season to win and we’re still in with a good chance.”
The experienced defender/midfielder is very wary of the momentum Adelaide has created during its Champions League and FIFA World Club Cup campaigns.
He said the Reds’ busy recent schedule would only be a concern for them if they were losing, but considering they have won their past two Hyundai A-League matches, they will very much have their tails up for this match.
“Sometimes, when you get on a bit of a roll, momentum goes against you and you find it difficult to pick yourselves up. Momentum has gone with them, and they’ve just run with it,” he said.
“They’ve had an extraordinary season and for the first A-League club to go on and compete in all competitions, it’s been tremendous. Tomorrow night, as we’ve always done, we’ll worry about ourselves and if Melbourne Victory is at its best then I’m sure we’ll come away with the points.”
