Sydney FC captain Terry McFlynn insists `Harry Kewell v Brett Emerton’ mania won’t prove a distraction as the Sky Blues look to get their A-League season off on the right foot against Melbourne Victory.
Star Victory recruit Kewell and Sydney signing Emerton were on Tuesday cleared to face off in next Saturday’s blockbuster season opener at Etihad Stadium after both were left out of Holger Osieck’s Socceroos squad to play Malaysia and Oman.
Sydney are desperate to make a successful start to the new campaign, after they went without a win in the first 10 matches of their title defence last season, a run which ultimately cost them a finals berth.
And while McFlynn agrees the pair’s arrival has set the stage for one of the biggest openings to an A-League season yet, he said Sydney would treat the match like any other showdown between the heavyweight teams.
“A lot of us that have been at the club for a long time know that games against Melbourne Victory are always special, whether it’s home or away and this is no different to that,” McFlynn said on Wednesday.
“If anything, it just adds to the occasion having two genuine world superstars of football involved.
“It’s something we’ve spoken about, getting off to a good start.
“We all know that we didn’t get off to a good start last season and that sort of spiralled on to the rest of the season … so we’ve worked hard and prepared well.”
McFlynn hailed Emerton’s early impact since commencing training last week and said the arrivals of fellow new signings, including Pascal Bosschaart and Karol Kisel, had given the feeling of a “complete fresh start” for the club.
The skipper also tipped big things from former Socceroos midfielder Nick Carle, who struggled with injuries during the 2010/11 campaign in his debut season with the club.
While Emerton’s arrival has hogged all the headlines in recent weeks, Carle has quietly gone about his business as Sydney’s best player in pre-season.
“He’s like another new player for us,” McFlynn said of Carle.
“We didn’t see him fully fit last season so it’s great that he’s got a full pre-season under his belt.
“He’s been top goal scorer in pre-season for us … we’re really looking forward to having both him and Brett on the park.”
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