Phoenix's Ifill the 'number one threat' for Sydney

BY SEBASTIAN HASSETT

Last updated 12:00 13/03/2010

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CRAIG SIMCOX/Dominion Post

POSTER BOY: Paul Ifill is the poster boy for the Phoenix

Phoenix hungry for success

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Paul Ifill cannot walk 10 metres around Wellington these days without being stopped for an autograph or photo. When he's on the field, the attention is even worse, with opposition players resorting to all sorts of tactics to curb his ever-growing influence.

You'd think it might bother him but, at the age of 30, it's the type of adulation and respect he thought would never come. After bursting on to the scene with Millwall, injuries and form curtailed his potential and he spent the majority of his career in England's lower leagues, save for a few forgettable months in the Premiership with Sheffield United.

Stuff.co.nz will have full coverage, including live play-by-play and photos of the Wellington Phoenix's bid for a place in the A-League grand final on Saturday night, from 10pm.

These days Ifill is the poster boy for the Phoenix, if not the entire competition. The forward's dazzling runs and nous for goal has turned what could have been an anonymous ending into an Indian summer.

''When I first came to the A-League, I don't think anyone knew anything about me. I completely slipped in under the radar and all everybody was talking about was Robbie Fowler,'' Ifill told the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday. ''That suited me fine because nobody expected anything of me. I was able to get away with a bit more but, as the season went on, people realised that I was doing OK and they tried to make it a bit harder.

''Teams are talking about having to stop me now. What can I say? It's so flattering and yeah, it's nice to hear it. But at the end of the day, I've still got to get out there and do the business.''

Sydney FC midfielder Stuart Musialik did not hesitate in the lead-up to tonight's preliminary final to nominate Ifill as Wellington's ''number one threat'', drawing comparisons with Johnny Warren medallist Carlos Hernandez in terms of the damage he is capable of inflicting.

As such, the Sky Blues are planning a lockdown job on the former Millwall man, although he's not afraid of the added physical pressure the home side will be eager to impart from the opening whistle.

''I don't shy away from it and it's just one of those things I think I can deal with,'' Ifill said. ''My job is to create goals and score goals, no matter who I'm up against. It's good that our boys have had confidence in me all season and have keep giving me the ball.

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''They know that no matter how many times I get it wrong, sooner or later I'll get it right and be able to do something with it.''

All season Ifill has been something of a nomad on the park. At times he seems like a perfectly natural strike partner for Chris Greenacre. At others he plays like a wide midfielder, making darting runs from the sideline; his natural burst of acceleration often giving him the decisive edge.

Asked if he had a preferred position, Ifill said he was quite happy for coach Ricki Herbert to let him go without instruction.

''I don't really have an ideal position, to be honest, it's more about the role I play,'' Ifill said. ''Ricki doesn't necessarily just choose a position for me and I have to stay there. This year he's given me a licence to go on either wing, play behind 'Greeny', play in front of Greeny, or just to go wherever I feel can I cause damage to the opposition. It's quite refreshing to have a manager who trusts me and lets me get on with it.''

Wellington go into tonight's clash having lost on all three occasions against Sydney this season, including two defeats at the Sydney Football Stadium. It's a damning statistic but it does not bother Ifill in the slightest.

''I don't know about the rest of the boys but it doesn't mean anything to me, I'm very confident,'' he said.

''It's true that Sydney can only beat what's put in front of them, but I don't think we put much in front of them previously. We're such a different team now to what we were.''

Few pundits would have believed that the Kiwis could turn around their form so dramatically after looking nothing more than bottom-four material for much of the journey. Rather fittingly, Ifill considers New Years' Eve to be when the Nix decided to turn over a new leaf.

''Going and beating the Mariners up there [in Gosford] , it really disproved the theory that we couldn't when away from home, that we were just a bunch of 'homers','' Ifill said.

''Now we believe we can win anywhere, any time. And having come this far this season, we certainly think we can go all the way.''

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