Herbert sure of no hangover for Phoenix

Ricki Herbert says he will be surprised if there's any World Cup football hangover when the Wellington Phoenix look to climb further up the A-League ladder against the Newcastle Jetsat EnergyAustralia Stadium tomorrow.

All the talk this week has been of the All Whites' win against Bahrain, which qualified them for next year's World Cup.

And with six of his Phoenix players in the national squad, Herbert's task has been to get their minds on the job.

But he said Thursday's training session had been "one of the best I've seen" and was confident there would be no hangover come 7pm tomorrow.

"I will be surprised if we're not up for it," Herbert said. "They [All Whites players] are under no illusions about what they need to do.

"They've got some rewards now because they've worked hard and this club has provided those opportunities for them. So the most important thing now is travelling away, having a good performance, and we should get some points."

The Phoenix, on paper, look to be a better team than Newcastle, as their 3-0 romp at Westpac Stadium on November 4 suggested.

A poor away record in the past 12 months will be their main obstacle to victory in the round 15 match tomorrow.

While a 13-match unbeaten streak at home during the past 13 months has been much-talked about, the away record during that same period is eight losses, four draws and just the one win.

It's the main thing holding the sixth-placed Phoenix back from challenging the likes of Sydney and Melbourne.

Herbert believes they "owe" Newcastle after a 3-2 loss in the Hunter Valley in round one, a performance he described as "crap".

"I thought we were crap there, to be honest, but we were very good against them at home. Let's hope it's not that home and away thing.

"I like what I've seen this week and players just need to go out and do the job."

With Vince Lia suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season, Diego is expected to be given a chance in midfield.

Costa Barbarouses, perhaps unluckily, and Reece Crowther drop to the bench to make way for Leo Bertos and Mark Paston.

The bench has an attacking look to it and problems may arise if there is an injury to one of the defenders, but Herbert is chasing three points and wants options.

"We've got some good points away so far this season but we're trying to go across there and win."

Such is the congested nature of the league at the halfway point of the season that a win could move the Phoenix up to fourth, while a loss could see them drop to last.

Meanwhile, a meeting between Football Federation Australia and the 10 club owners in Sydney on Wednesday seems to have produced nothing tangible as far as the Phoenix are concerned.

The Phoenix are seeking a 10-year licence beyond the end of next season but have been given no assurances.

How they line up

Jets (from): Angelo Costanzo, Adam D'Apuzzo, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Ljubo Milicevic, Ben Kantarovski, Jin-Hyung Song, Matt Thompson (c), Sasho Petrovski, Donny De Groot, Tarek Elrich, Jobe Wheelhouse, Michael Bridges, Sean Rooney, Jason Hoffman, Fabio Vignaroli, Neil Young, Kaz Patafta, Labinot Haliti, Ali Abbas, Dion Shaw (five to be omitted).

Phoenix (probable): Mark Paston, Manny Muscat, Andrew Durante, Ben Sigmund, Tony Lochhead, Tim Brown, Diego, Leo Bertos, Daniel, Paul Ifill, Chris Greenacre. Substitutes: Reece Crowther, Troy Hearfield, Costa Barbarouses, Adrian Caceres.

Kickoff: 7pm tomorrow, Sky Sport 1

Referee: Peter Green

TAB odds: Jets $2.25, Phoenix $2.90, draw $3.20

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