Defender confident Phoenix can redress balance

BY FRED WOODCOCK

Phoenix defender Jon McKain believes sky-high confidence levels and a balanced team structure are more than enough to counter the poor recent record against Sydney FC in Saturday's A-League preliminary final.

The Wellington Phoenix head to Sydney today having lost all three matches against the minor premiers this season.

But the flip side is they have never been in better spirits or in better form. They have won eight of their past 10 matches and the last five on the trot, mixing strong defence with an emphasis to attack at any opportunity.

"A lot of teams talk about us not being the flashest of teams, but we've got great balance and a bit of depth," McKain said after another competitive training session at Newtown Park yesterday.

"Everyone is on their toes trying to produce, knowing that if you don't perform you're going to be on the bench."

McKain is battling with Ben Sigmund for a starting spot after missing Sunday's thrilling win against Newcastle through suspension.

The Socceroo thought Sigmund was "outstanding" and though relieved the team got through after extra time, he was disappointed at not being a part of the occasion.

He will be on Saturday, replacing Costa Barbarouses in the only change to the squad of 16. Adrian Caceres is still in Argentina with his wife for the birth of the couple's first child and will miss the match.

Whether McKain starts, as most are tipping, will not be known till after tomorrow evening's final training run in Sydney.

"It's out of our control," said McKain. "Both Siggy and I have done well when we've come in, so it's a tough decision that only Rick can make. Whoever plays, the other one will be supporting him. The important thing is we get the result."

Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert is remaining coy on the McKain-Sigmund call, while he admitted Daniel's superb performance off the bench against Newcastle was putting pressure on Leo Bertos for a starting role out wide.

"We'll see," he said. "Players have got to be fresh and I've always been the same – if I like what I see at training I'll make those changes. If not, we could be very similar.

"They've trained well. There's always a little bit of aggro given what's on the line, but they're all good. Five [wins] on the bounce helps anybody, the confidence is high."

Influential striker Paul Ifill trained well yesterday and is not in doubt for Sydney despite picking up a knock on Sunday.

"He'll be fine, he'll play," Herbert said. "I kind of like it when he's carrying a knock because he seems to play quite well."

While acknowledging it was important to ensure his team was "mentally ready", Herbert has turned his attention to out-smarting Sydney.

"We've played them three times and lost three times, so I think we've got to change something," he said. "Maybe they could be on a bit of a downer [after losing to Melbourne]."

He believed a mediocre away record would count for little in a one-off final scenario, but he is nonetheless calling on Sydney's Kiwi population to turn out en masse at the Sydney Football Stadium.

"Unfortunately we can't bring the prices down for them, but it would be great if they could get out and support the team."

Meanwhile, Qantas is providing additional capacity on the Wellington-Sydney route due to high demand from fans travelling to the match, upgrading several flights to Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

There are seats still available on flights tomorrow and return services on Monday.

- © Fairfax NZ News