With finals hopes seemingly dashed for another year, Mark Rudan is challenging Western Sydney Wanderers players to prove themselves in the closing weeks of the Isuzu UTE A-League.
The Wanderers blew a two-goal lead against Central Coast Mariners last Wednesday as the visitors snatched a last-gasp 2-2 draw, despite playing half of the game with 10 men.
That result left Rudan’s team 10th in the standings with just five games to play, including Wednesday’s visit by ninth-placed Newcastle Jets, whose own finals hopes are on the line after their heartbreaking 2-1 loss to in-form Melbourne Victory last Saturday.
The most realistic scenario for the Wanderers is a fifth straight A-League Men campaign without finals football but Rudan doesn’t want his players to think it’s time to clock off.
“I’m still assessing them,” said Rudan, whose Wanderers are unbeaten in their last five games at CommBank Stadium.
“I want them to do it for themselves first and foremost because as players it is their career.
“We’re just there to be at a service for them and to help them grow as part of their journey but ultimately it’s their careers.
“They can either make things harder or easier for me.
“If they all do the right things, they all come in there with a great attitude and train hard and want to be part of it, it makes my job harder.
“We’re striving to win all of those games irrespective … (but) they’ve got to do it for themselves first and foremost.”
Bouncing back from last week’s discouraging result against the Mariners, with Dan Hall’s stoppage-time equaliser leaving the Wanderers’ players floored, will be the major challenge for Rudan against the Jets.
He’s convinced, by what he’s seen, that the Wanderers players are ready to put that disappointment behind them against an opponent equally eager after Victory stole a win with a stoppage-time winner by Italian Francesco Margiotta at McDonald Jones Stadium.
“They’ve picked themselves up and there’s still games to play and there’s still a lot to play for as far as I’m concerned,” Rudan said.
Newcastle – seven points adrift of the top six with two games in hand – will be bolstered by the return of captain Matthew Jurman and midfielder Angus Thurgate, who both missed the loss to the Victory due to suspension.
The Jets have lost only one of their last 12 A-League Men games against Western Sydney (W6, D5) while each of their last three wins against the Wanderers have come after not having led at half-time on the day.
Western Sydney Wanderers v Newcastle Jets
Isuzu UTE A-League
Wednesday, April 20 2022
COMMBANK STADIUM
Kick-off: 7.05pm AEST
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
