Wanderers defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley is confident uncertainty around the futures of a host of players won’t derail the club’s Championship hopes as they head into the final round of Hyundai A-League action.
Wanderers defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley is confident uncertainty around the futures of a host of players won’t derail the club’s Championship hopes as they head into the final round of Hyundai A-League action.
The Wanderers squad is set for a big overhaul in the off-season, with marquee man Shinji Ono already on the way out and a number of others players expected to follow.
Midfielder Aaron Mooy is believed to be on his way to Melbourne Heart while livewire winger Youssouf Hersi and defenders Matthew Spiranovic, Michael Beauchamp and Jerome Polenz are all off contract at the end of the season.
While Topor-Stanley is hopeful the bulk of the squad can stay together, is well aware of the nature of professional sport.
And as Wanderers head into a huge final round clash against Heart at AAMI Park on Saturday, the 29-year-old insists the speculation isn’t a distraction.
“It’s been going on all year and I think it happens at every football club. It’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Topor-Stanley told www.footballaustralia.com.au.
“You just have to deal with that and keep your head in the moment and focus on what really matters at the time.
“I’m sure every other team is going through the same situation, it’s just the nature of the beast. That’s football. Unfortunately nothing lasts forever.
“All the boys are professional enough to understand we’ve got big tests coming up and we have to have the right frame of mind to get the result and that’s a team effort.”
Wanderers can wrap up a top-two finish if they can get over lowly Heart but Topor-Stanley knows it won’t be easy with the home side looking to send retiring skipper Harry Kewell out with a win.
While Western Sydney have managed just one win in their last six games, the rugged central defender is adamant their form isn’t that bad.
He pointed to last weekend’s impressive second half showing against league-leaders Brisbane as an indication Wanderers can be a force in the finals.
“We’ve got some sort of consistency back in our game which was maybe lacking over the season as a whole,” Topor-Stanley said.
“Of recent times we’re quite strong and quite resilient which is what we pride ourselves on and we’ll be looking to continue that.
The core values are still the same, we’re still trying to give 100% in every game, the efforts always there, sometimes the result doesn-t fall our way.
“But we’re just looking to continue our recent form, be strong at the back and punish teams when they give us an opportunity.
“This is the position we want to be in every year. We want to be there fighting for honours…that’s why we play the game.”
Wanderers have never lost to Heart in five previous meetings but with the likes of Kewell, David Williams and Iain Ramsey in the side, Topor-Stanley said his fellow defenders are ready for a torrid 90 minutes.
“They’ve (Heart) proved they can beat anyone on their day. They’re playing at home and they’ll obviously want to give Harry a big send off,” he said.
“We’ll have to be at our best if we want to spoil the party.
“We’re trying to focus all our energy on getting the job done and getting the right result and hopefully get that second spot. That’s all that matters and we can move on from there.”
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