Sydney FC have grown accustomed to setting the pace rather than chasing the Premiership but Rhyan Grant believes the Sky Blues can still defend their Hyundai A-League crown.
The 28-year-old defender has been an integral part of Sydney’s back-to-back Premiers’ Plate triumphs over the past two seasons.
And although the Sky Blues trail Perth Glory by eight points with seven rounds remaining, Grant says Sydney are still poised to reel in the competition frontrunners.
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“We’re in the driver’s seat at the minute,” Grant said.
“We’ve got back into second position now, we haven’t had the best results of late but if we continue to get wins under our belt we’re going to be in good stead come the end of the season.
“We’re just concentrating on getting wins every week and seeing where we end up.”
Grant and Sydney have a good opportunity to throw a spanner in the works of the Premiership race this weekend.
Steve Corica’s side entertain top-four rivals Adelaide United in Friday’s (7.50pm kick off AEDT) highly-anticipated affair at Leichhardt Oval knowing they can reduce the deficit to five points before Glory travel to Melbourne City on Sunday.
The stakes will undoubtedly be raised again when Adelaide, who defeated Sydney in the FFA Cup 2018 Final last October, touch down in Sydney’s inner-west.
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But Grant is relishing the pressure.
“We go into every game wanting to win,” Grant said.
“We’re confident against any team in the A-League, but Adelaide, in particular, is always a fiery contest, so we’re really looking forward to it.
“We had a great turnout a couple of weeks ago and hopefully we get the same sort of thing, the crowd comes out in numbers and we get a good atmosphere for everyone.”
