Flight woes offer hope for Phoenix

Flight delays may have accidentally found the Phoenix a new way to approach A-League travel.

Scheduled to leave Wellington Airport on Tuesday afternoon ahead of tonight's clash with Perth Glory, delays meant the team ended up waiting things out in a first-class lounge before being diverted to Sydney for an overnight stop.

The Wellington to Perth flight is the longest "domestic" trip any team in world football has to face. And with the Phoenix struggling to find form on the road – winning just eight of their 37 away games – timing could hardly have been worse.

But captain Andrew Durante says the broken-up trip might actually have uncovered a new ploy for Ricki Herbert's team.

"We were delayed in Wellington and had to stay in Sydney overnight. It's probably worked out in our favour, to be honest, as it broke up the flight to Perth quite nicely. We might consider doing the same thing next time we come here.

"It was refreshing to be able to wake up in the morning, get a shower and then carry on to Perth. The whole thing's probably a blessing in disguise.

"There's a lot of pressure on our away form at the moment but it's all just a mental barrier. I think we've got a good enough squad to win away against any team in the A-League and we need to get that into our mindset. There's nothing really the coaching staff can do. It's up to the players."

In an attempt to rally the troops, Herbert has said he's ready to ring the changes from the side which failed to fire in the first half against the Roar in Brisbane last Friday.

And Durante says the entire squad are on their toes and in the dark over tonight's starting 11.

"I think it's been a really positive move by Ricki. It shows no one in the squad can be comfortable and you have to fight for your place. It's a sure-fire way to get the best out of people and I applaud Ricki for being cut-throat. I think it's a great move.

"Playing the Glory away is never easy but the lads need to pull their fingers out. We've trained really hard this week – we're desperate for three points."

- © Fairfax NZ News