The travel problem is a mental one - Petrie

If the Wellington Phoenix are to make the leap from playoff contenders to A-League champions, they know they must start winning on the road.

Clearly it is easier said than done.

They are unbeaten in 21 games at home but have won just eight of 37 away games in their A-League history.

Tomorrow night they play the table-topping Glory after a 5250-kilometre journey to Perth, the longest road trip of any domestic competition in the world.

Former cricketer Richard Petrie is a mental skills coach who worked with the New Zealand Warriors NRL team for two years.

He regularly discussed the travel factor with Warriors coach Ivan Cleary and said it was a major hurdle for all New Zealand teams playing in Australian competitions.

Part of the difficulty was physical, Petrie said, but the majority was mental.

"The travel schedule for New Zealand teams going to Australia, it can be 13 hours before you get there," Petrie said.

"Some of the players go nuts, sitting around. You get tired travelling and there is a physical aspect to it. But there is that anxiety level which is higher when you're away from home and you always sleep better in your own bed.

"In sport, one of the big skills is to be able to control your emotions and it's certainly harder to control your emotions when you're a bit anxious. And certainly it's easier to stay relaxed and calm when you're in familiar surroundings."

So how to overcome the travel factor?

Petrie said the first thing was to conduct a personal "audit" on the routines that had been carried out before a successful performance.

Top sportspeople knew this or would do it intuitively.

"The top guys just know how to switch on, no matter what's going on around them. And they're more aware, you talk to them and they can tell you stories about how they feel, they can tell you about what they do whereas the lesser ones just turn up and play."

Another factor was referees being influenced by crowds, and Petrie said studies had shown 50-50 decisions invariably went the way of the home team.

"It is quite a staggering difference. The referees are obviously affected by it and whenever you give a penalty one way you get a great big cheer and when you blow one the other way you get a boo. It's almost like you're being conditioned.

"You don't do it consciously but it's like training a dog, you pat him when he does well."

However, Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert this week described the travel factor as "irrelevant", with the focus squarely on performance.

"It's not about saying, `We're away again,' we're just not in that headspace at all," Herbert said.

But Petrie said: "I think there is an issue and I think you need to acknowledge it.

"There's no point saying it doesn't have an effect because it clearly does."

The club did improve on the road last season, winning three and drawing five of 14 away matches and Phoenix captain Andrew Durante said the team would eventually "get over it".

"We're too good a team not to pick up points away from home and once we get the mindset that we play away like we do at home then we'll be fine."

- © Fairfax NZ News