Lochhead keen to keep Phoenix flying

All Whites defender Tony Lochhead has ridden an emotional rollercoaster in the past week but says he's eager to settle back into the weekly routine of trying to get the Phoenix qualified for their first appearance in the A-League playoffs.

It's been back to business with a thud after playing a major role in New Zealand's 1-nil World Cup qualifying win over Bahrain last Saturday night.

The Phoenix leave the capital today to head to Newcastle for a Sunday clash with the Jets who are snapping at the heels for a place in the top six.

It seems Ricki Herbert took some old-school remedies to get the Phoenix in shape for this match.

With six of his players involved in the New Zealand effort and the others having a weekend off, the Phoenix coaching staff put their players through a tough few days on the practice pitch this week, starting with a double training session on Tuesday.

Lochhead, the 27-year-old left back, admitted there had been "a couple of big days" in the aftermath to the famous win.

He had been the first to congratulate goalkeeper Mark Paston on his penalty save as he'd been the man to bring down the Bahrain striker in the box. He thought he'd blown New Zealand's chances and gifted the visitors a clean strike that was effectively worth two goals on away rules.

"I think I owe him more than a beer," Lochhead said of Paston who produced the perfect response to keep Rory Fallon's one-goal advantage intact.

Lochhead said he had no qualms about the penalty decision: "I think it was a penalty. I thought I was going to get in front of him but he got in front of me and I touched him and he went down. Unfortunately it was a penalty but that's just part of the game. Pasty came through and saved my skin."

Now it's back to his daily job with the Phoenix and it's a crucial time with their season delicately balanced.

"I'm looking forward to getting back into the Phoenix campaign. This will be a big game against Newcastle and it's likely to be very hot over there," he said.

"It seems like we are going alright this season – we're halfway there and we need to make sure that we get some good results," he said.

"Hopefully we can make the playoffs this year. That would be good for the club. The first two seasons we have improved each year and the next step is to get into the playoffs."

This will be the third clash between these teams this year. The Jets won 2-1 at home in week won and the Phoenix were impressive in winning 3-0 in Wellington a fortnight ago.

- © Fairfax NZ News