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Striker Alex Brosque says Sydney FC are now intent on underlining their new-found status as A-League favourites, having pulled clear of the competition with two straight wins.
The sky blues were stunning in beating reigning premiers Melbourne 3-0 last Friday night, with Victory coach Ernie Merrick labelling them as the league’s “team to beat” after the match.
Vitezslav Lavicka’s side now sit two points ahead of Gold Coast and Perth Glory and Brosque says they must focus on consolidating top spot, something no side has been able to do so far this season.
“We’ve had a few chances to go a couple of points clear this season and we didn’t really take advantage of that,” Brosque said on Monday ahead of Friday’s clash with Adelaide United.
“So I think the last two weeks we have created a bit of a gap and this week with Perth playing Gold Coast – second and third playing each other – it is a real chance for us to give ourselves a bit of a buffer.
“It’s something we’re working on but we don’t want to get too carried away because if we lose we could be back down to second or third.”
Brosque, who turned 26 on Monday, said Sydney will have no problems shouldering the pressure that comes from people talking up their title credentials.
“That’s fine if they want to say that, but things have changed pretty quickly so we’re not getting carried away,” Brosque said.
“I guess we have set a benchmark for ourselves in terms of the way we play and as long as we can maintain that and try and better that from week to week, we’ll be happy.”
Brosque, who has been one of Sydney’s best this season, finally broke his goal drought with the opener against Melbourne.
With strike partner Mark Bridge bagging a double, they continued to establish themselves as a formidable front pairing for Lavicka.
But Brosque said they were both still on notice, with marquee striker John Aloisi now fit again after recovering from a knee injury and looking to break back into the side.
“There is tough competition for places up front this week, so we can’t sort of rest on that (performance), we need to keep playing well,” Brosque said.
“Johnny is fit now and pushing to get back in the squad and we know that at any moment someone of his calibre can come straight back in the squad so it’s keeping us on our toes.
“I’m enjoying playing with Bridgey at the moment, but we need to keep it going.”
Defender Stephan Keller, who missed the win over the Victory with a knee problem, did not train with the side on Monday and is rated a 50-50 chance to face Adelaide at Hindmarsh Stadium.
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