A-League finals will be tight: Postecoglou

Brisbane coach Ange Postecoglou senses his players are close to recapturing their deadly championship-winning form heading towards possibly the tightest finals series in A-League history.

“I’ve got a sneaking suspicion this will be the tightest finals race and the most competitive finals series since the A-League started,” declared Postecoglou as the club continued to weigh up appealing a one-game ban hanging over star Albanian import Besart Barisha.

Reeling in Central Coast (40 points), who are 11 points ahead on the ladder, might not be possible given the Mariners are playing with a similar belief to the Roar at the same time last season.

“They’ve got some real momentum and belief like we had last year and that’s an enormous thing,” said Postecoglou.

“We were in the same position last year where we had a bit of a stretch where people were asking ‘can they catch you?’.”

Postecoglou said the top six were all getting decent results with Melbourne Victory and Adelaide still not out of it.

“I don’t think anything’s done and dusted except for the Mariners finishing in first place,” he said.

“I think there’s going to be some real fun to be had with quite a few teams going hard at it right till the end.”

Postecoglou has no doubt one of those teams will be the Roar, even though results have been hard to come by since their record 36-game unbeaten streak ended.

“We’re not in the fantastic form we need to be in so that’s our focus,” he said.

“You don’t want to limp into the finals.

“If you want to pick up the big trophy, that’s the key.”

Brisbane were a mile in front on the ladder playing the final game last season but Postecoglou refused to ease up or rest key players.

They smashed the Gold Coast 4-0 because he wanted them entering the finals in red hot form.

The injury returns of German ace Thomas Broich and striker Henrique, sidelined during the club’s recent record losing streak, will take a few weeks to kick in but will make a big difference to Brisbane’s attack.

“They missed a lot of football, not just games, but training,” noted Postecoglou.

“I don’t think we’re far off.

“Even during our mad three weeks, we didn’t fall to bits when we lost five games. We were competitive in all of them.

“We’re the type of team that will always try to win a game of football so you’re always rolling the dice.”

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