Wellington Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante is confident his team are not getting too far ahead of themselves as they enter the final match of the Hyundai A-League’s regular season.
Wellington Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante is confident his team are not getting too far ahead of themselves as they enter the final match of the Hyundai A-League’s regular season.
The Phoenix know they have already qualified for a home fixture in the first round of the finals series before kicking a ball in anger against Central Coast Mariners on Sunday afternoon.
But with third spot still up for grabs, and the chance to deny the Mariners the premiers plate, Durante believes the team is focused on the job in front of them on Sunday afternoon at Westpac Stadium.
“This is important. We want to try and get that third spot as well,” he said. “We still want to win this game. We are going to play our part in who wins the minor premiership as well and that’s a big role to play.”
But with third-place rivals Perth Glory hosting their match against Melbourne Victory on Saturday night, Wellington will already know what they need to do before they even kick-off against the league-leading Mariners, who need to win the game if they’re to be certain of finishing ahead of Brisbane Roar, who play Gold Coast United later on Sunday.
Durante admits it would probably be fairer if all the final round matches were played at the same time as happens in most other leagues.
“I think it’s a great idea to play it all at the same time like they do around the world,” said the skipper who will play his 100th game for Wellington on Sunday. “But with Fox Sports and TV rights it’s not possible.”
If third place is gone for the Phoenix, coach Ricki Herbert has even hinted at resting some of his players on Sunday but Durante was adamant that would not affect his team’s attitude.
“As players we want to win. Whatever team Ricki decides to put out there we want to win this game even if it’s a dead-rubber and we can’t get third,” he said.
“We still want to win this game. We’re going to go and try and win this game no matter what.
“We want to build momentum going into the finals game. We don’t want to come off two losses and have to play on Friday and try and pick ourselves up again.
“The result is one thing but I think the performance is key this Sunday. We really need to play well.”
