Head coach Ufuk Takay has issued the warning to his squad after they weren’t scheduled a league game over the past weekend. Instead they played an inter-club friendly at the Sky Stadium - and Talay has said that should be enough to keep legs and minds sharp.
“The boys didn’t really have any time off so there can’t be complacency there,” he explained. “We worked them like we had a game on the weekend and I made sure it was very important for us to get a hit out for the boys who have been playing regular football and for the boys who haven’t been getting much minutes into their legs.”
Momentum
After winning two games in a row without conceding a goal, not featuring in the A-League was frustrating for the gaffer - who wanted to keep the good vibes flowing.
Talay added: “I’m a big believer in momentum in football, and we missed a week of playing an A-League game so it was very important to play an internal game and I think it was a good hit out for the boys.”
Central Coast Mariners are sitting rock bottom of the league and haven’t challenged many sides this season. Western United, who Wellington beat 2-0, stuck six past the New South Wales outfit and they’ll be low on moral.
Bad Season
They’ve lost their last five games and have conceded an awful 43 goals from 19 games and have hit the back of the net just 19 times. Four wins and a draw mean the Mariners have just 13 points from their A-League season and the Nix are expected to win this one.
Liberato Cacace is one game away from his 50th in the league so this clash will have special meaning one way or the other. But another three points will move them closer towards their aim of securing a top six place - and they could even push towards the top four.