A crucial away day looms for the Phoenix against the high-flying Western United.
Head coach Giancarlo Italiano is upbeat about the game despite a recent sticky patch of form.
“Yeah, I’m feeling really good,” he told media on Friday.
“Training was pretty good today, it’s been really productive all week, and again, for a team that’s on the wrong side of results at the moment, the group vibe’s good.
“I’ve been part of some environments where things aren’t going well and it can get toxic, but it’s probably the complete opposite in this group.
“It’s a good thing because there’s a lot of belief in the group, they want to prove a lot of people wrong.
“We just keep talking about one performance, one result, and we can turn our season.”
The team feel they are close to finding that breakthrough without any radical alterations.
“Nothing changes in my thinking. We all believe that it’s the best way going forward, it’s just a matter of getting the right personnel, cohesion, team chemistry.
“If we thought we were fundamentally off, we would change it.
“I don’t think we’ve changed much from the last 12 weeks. We’ve defended the same, built up the same.”
“We’ve just got more of a grounding for the players to understand where they’re at.”
That reflects the steady mentality the coaching staff have adopted throughout the season.
“I don’t think we do too much different whether we win or we lose.
“The players don’t want an authoritarian leader, they want a bit of guidance, and that’s what we try to do when things are going rough like they are.
“When things are going well we’re the same. We don’t change the tune. If we’re emotional, then it gives the players an excuse to be emotional.”
Second-placed Western United have been the surprise package of this A-League season, and Italiano forecasts a tough game for the Nix.
“I think I said it in round 1, and everyone laughed at me, but I said they’d be up there. In all the pre-season friendlies I saw I thought they were really good.
“They had a bit of a similar process to us last year, where they ended up coming last but they blooded a lot of young players that came in. This year it’s gelled quite nicely.
“John Aloisi is a good coach as well, he’s won the league, so they can lean on his experience.
“For me they’re just a good unit, they attack well in transition. Defensively they’re very rigid and hard to break down.”
Even so, he believes that an improvement in attack can see the Phoenix come away with a positive result.
“The most important thing when it comes to attacking is understanding cohesion, recognition of where players will be at all times.
“I think what’s happened is there’s been an overreliance on Kosta, and it’s made it easier for teams to defend him.
“When he’s not getting the service, it’s more about getting players in those areas where they can be effective and provide those creative outlets for him. That comes down to team chemistry.
“The advantage I had last year was that I came into the team, already knew the players, it wasn’t hard to make them gel. This season we’ve had a massive turnover in the squad.
“It’s more about their understanding and movements with each other. The more games we play, we believe that they’ll get better with their combination and so on.
“When you have a lot of injuries, and you’re also relying on a lot of younger players, that can happen. It’s more about time than anything.”
With the squad nearly back to full health, Italiano is close to being able to deploy his preferred lineup for the first time all season.
A few players, including Marco Rojas, are still on limited minutes as they continue their recoveries, but the side is shaping in the right direction.
“God willing, with a bit of luck. There’s no injuries, we’ve got Marco back now faster than expected.
“Ishige is coming back now, he’s been carrying a couple of knocks over the last couple of months.
“At the moment there are some restrictions with players, but as we move on the restrictions will be less and less, but we’re getting close to full fitness. I’m looking forward to it.”
The round 22 Isuzu UTE A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Western United is scheduled to kick-off at Ironbark Fields in Tarneit at 8pm (6pm AEDT) Saturday and will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sport 3 in New Zealand and on Paramount+ in Australia.
Most recent meeting: 20 October 2024 – Wellington Phoenix 1 Western United 1
All-time A-League head-to-head: Phoenix 9W, Western 3W & 2D.
Wellington Phoenix squad (two to be omitted): 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Scott WOOTTON, 6. Tim PAYNE, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 12. Chico GERALDES, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 19. Sam SUTTON, 21. Marco ROJAS, 23. Luke SUPYK, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk), 35. Dublin BOON (gk), 39. Jayden SMITH, 41. Nathan WALKER.
Unavailable: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk) (illness), 11. Stefan COLAKOVSKI (injured), 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES (injured).
Western United squad (two to be omitted): 4. James DONACHIE, 6. Tomoki IMAI (c), 7. Ramy NAJJARINE, 9. Hiroshi IBUSUKI, 10. Matthew GRIMALDI, 13. Tate RUSSELL, 14. Jake NAJDOVSKI, 19. Noah BOTIC, 20. Abel WALATEE, 22. Kane VIDMAR, 23. Rhys BOZINOVSKI, 24. Michael RUHS, 29. Charbel SHAMOON, 30. Dylan LEONARD, 32. Angus THURGATE, 33. Matt SUTTON (gk), 37. Luke VICKERY, 44. Jordan LAUTON, 70. Michael VONJA (gk), 77. Riku DANZAKI.
Unavailable: 17. Ben GARUCCIO (injured)
