Central Coast Mariners Head Coach Phil Moss says his team are heading to Auckland in good spirits and full of belief ahead of Saturday’s Hyundai A-League round 10 encounter with Wellington Phoenix.
“Everyone is feeling really good and the mood in the camp has been fantastic,” he said.
“Obviously none of us are happy with our recent results but we all know that with every game we have been in it with a chance to win. We’ve had chances to score goals, it’s just that little bit of luck and composure in front of goal that is missing at the moment.”
“We will keep working hard, believing and keep playing some of the football we’ve been playing and I know our luck will turn.”
The yellow and navy are currently winless in their last eight matches but the Mariners boss insists his side are working hard and believes they will return to winning ways.
“We’ve done a lot of work this week. Confidence is one thing and it only comes from action that has gone before it. It’s about belief, belief in your ability, belief individually and collectively and belief in the game plan,” said Moss.
“We are all fighting this through together and I’ve got no doubt we will come out the other side and once our luck changes, I’m sure we will hit some consistent form.”
Central Coast suffered their first loss of the 2014/15 Hyundai A-League campaign back in round 2 following a 2-1 defeat to the Phoenix in Gosford.
An own goal from Tom Doyle opened the scoring for the home side, before goals to Michael McGlinchey and Nathan Burns helped Wellington seal all three points.
Moss says the side will need to keep a close eye on some of Phoenix’s danger men and have to stay switched on for 95 minutes against Ernie Merrick’s side.
“They’ve got a lot of quality. Krishna, McGlinchey, Burns, who is the leading goal scorer in the competition and taking the chances presented to him. Bonevacia is a good player and I really like Riera, he’s a very creative number six and technically very good,” he said.
“They have plenty of dangers but if our defensive structure is sound and our aggression to defend the ball is good and it has been in recent weeks apart from a couple of minutes really in each game. We’ve got to stay concentrated for 95 minutes and if we do that we have the quality to beat any team.
“I have so much belief in these boys and once our luck changes, the confidence will shine through to match the belief.”
Central Coast will welcome Jacob Poscoliero back into the squad for Saturday’s clash after recovering from injury, while Isaka Cernak and Eddy Bosnar have also been named to possibly feature for Moss’s men.
“I still need to decide on a couple of positions for the game. Certainly Jacob will be back from injury, Matt Simon will be better for his run last week and Eddy has been training very well this week. There are certainly a lot of players putting their hands up for selection at the moment,” Moss said.
Fresh from signing a new two-year contract extension with the Club, Glen Trifiro says his team are prepared for the match with Wellington and remain hopeful of returning to winning ways against the ‘Nix on Saturday.
“All of the talk this week has been positive and we know we’ve got roles and responsibilities that we have to play a very strong outfit like Wellington,” said Trifiro.
“They are in great form at the moment and they have some players that obviously in good form also and they are dangerous. We know defensively what we have to do to nullify their strengths.”
“We have a game plan of what we need to do and we are looking to bounce back from a tough run of results.”
Wellington Phoenix vs. Central Coast Mariners – Hyundai A-League 2014/15 Round 10
Saturday 13 December, 2014
Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-off: 3:00pm AEDT
TV: Watch LIVE on FOX SPORTS 4 & 4 HD
Twitter: @CCMariners #WELvCCM
