With five games to go, Western Sydney Wanderers coach Tony Popovic believes his side can win the Premiership. But first they must negotiate a trip to Newcastle on Sunday.
Popovic told reporters on Friday he was looking for a reaction from his second-placed Wanderers following last week’s 3-2 loss to Roar in Brisbane.
And he was confident his team had it in their locker to finish on top of the Hyundai A-League and seal a second Premiership in just four years.
“We expect to see a reaction not so much the result [in Brisbane] we were just a little disappointed we worked so hard to get back in the game that we left ourselves a little bit down in that last 10 minutes.
“Five [games] to go, every match is crucial. But we’re challenging [for the title].
“We’re a point off the top and we’ve been there or thereabouts all year … now we want to finish the job off.
“Clearly we can get first spot, there’s no doubt about that.”
Hyundai A-League preview: Jets v Wanderers
Returning to selection calculations this weekend are key Wanderers Mark Bridge and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
And with Adelaide hosting City and Roar and Victory meeting while the resurgent Glory are at home and aiming to cement their finals spot, the league is reaching an exciting climax.
“Every player is eager to play and you can see the look in their eyes, they’re really looking forward to this one,” added Popovic of his players.
“At home they’re [the Jets] always dangerous and they’ve some individuals that can certainly hurt you. But we’ve got to go there and expect to win a tough game.”
He added: “There will be a lot of twists and turns [in the last five rounds].
“For us it’s very simple, if we win we remain at worst a point behind Adelaide.
“That’s all we can do and if we do that we believe we’ll finish at the top.”
