Adelaide United coach Josep Gombau says winning form will over-ride any fatigue when his unbeaten A-League outfit host Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
The fixture will be Adelaide’s third in eight days, including Wednesday night’s FFA Cup semi-final triumph against Central Coast.
But Gombau rejects tiredness as an excuse for not performing against the Phoenix, who will be without a swag of players on international duties for New Zealand.
“If you are getting results, mentally you are okay,” Gombau told reporters on Friday.
“The problem is when you play a lot of games and the results don’t come. But if the results are coming, it’s something that brings to you extra power.
“Of course the days that we have between games is not the best. But we can’t complain. Our team is okay. The number of games is not a factor.
“For the players and me and for everybody, it’s better to play games than to be training and training like in pre-season.
“The competition is motivating.”
The fourth-placed Reds are undefeated this season with three wins and two draws, sitting two points ahead of fifth-placed Wellington, who have banked three victories and two losses.
The Phoenix have four key players unavailable due to national commitments – Michael Boxall, Michael McGlinchey, Jeremy Brockie and Tyler Boyd.
But Gombau, who believed the A-League should halt when national games are scheduled, remained wary of Wellington.
“Wellington are doing well. But also us, we are doing well, we play at home and we need to have a winning mentality,” he said.
“They will come and they will be competitive and be a good team we need to respect a lot.
“For me, it’s not an easy game because they are doing well and because we played on Wednesday.”
Gombau also dismissed any talk of Adelaide as league contenders.
“We just see the next game … we don’t see more far away than tomorrow,” he said.
“The players are intelligent and professional and know results can change … I don’t need to speak with them about this.
“I am not thinking to win the league in this moment – just game by game and we will see what happens when we finish the competition.”
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