Wellington Phoenix happy to be hot favourites

The Phoenix have embraced the favourites tag and are confident there will be no extra pressure piled on by a sellout crowd of 34,500 for Sunday's A-League elimination final against Newcastle at Westpac Stadium.

Wellington Phoenix have been installed $1.35 favourites at the TAB to progress to a preliminary final against Sydney or Melbourne, despite preparing without six internationals and coach Ricki Herbert till Saturday.

They are paying $1.80 to win after 90 minutes ($2.15 at Australian betting agency Centrebet), the second shortest price they have opened at in the club's three-year history.

But Newcastle coach Branko Culina has continued the mind-games, saying the big crowd and a strong home record would bring added pressure for the Phoenix, raising the possibility of stage-fright.

Phoenix assistant coach Jonathan Gould dismissed that claim – "I know what I'd prefer, [the crowd] in our favour" – before saying the team would take heart from being favourites.

"It should give us confidence, but it doesn't give you any guarantee," he said after training at Newtown Park yesterday.

"It gives you an advantage, definitely, but we've just got to make sure we play exactly the same way and as detailed as we have been all season."

Midfielder Manny Muscat agreed the crowd, which will be a record for a non-international football match in New Zealand, would only aid the Phoenix.

"It's anyone's game when it comes to finals but I think it's always tough when a team comes to Wellington, with a sellout crowd as well. It feels like another player on the pitch when everybody's screaming, but it's certainly not going to be an easy game."

Muscat and fellow midfielder Vince Lia acknowledged the preparation was far from ideal, with the lack of numbers making it difficult to replicate match situations.

But Gould said they were doing everything to ensure the team would be ready.

"[The dynamics change] but only from a numbers point of view, everything else stays the same.

"There's a good group of professionals here. We've got through it before," he added, pointing to an early-season 1-1 draw in Melbourne after a short turnaround from the All Whites-Jordan match.

"If mentally the boys are prepared, I'm sure physically they'll drive themselves. The 35,000 at the stadium will help them as well."

The Phoenix will watch today's All Whites-Mexico friendly in Los Angeles with everything crossed in the hope of an injury-free 90 minutes.

It is particularly important centre back Ben Sigmund and fullback Tony Lochhead come through unscathed, given the lack of defensive depth with Jon McKain out.

Meanwhile, Gould, a former Scotland and Celtic goalkeeper, said penalties would again be high on the agenda and he would run through tactics with goalkeepers Liam Reddy and Reece Crowther, as he did before the Perth match.

"We had done our homework [before Perth], it was discussed prior to the game and also directly prior to the penalties. That will be the same this week, but I'm not telling you what it is."

He had studied footage of Newcastle's penalty shootout win over Gold Coast.

Jobe Wheelhouse (groin) and Tarek Elrich (knee) both trained for the Jets yesterday while Culina was absent, attending the Australia-Indonesia Asian Cup match in Brisbane with his son, Jason, captaining the Socceroos.

- © Fairfax NZ News