Western Sydney coach Tony Popovic has warned Sydney FC his Wanderers side are not far away from a first A-League win of the season ahead of Saturday’s derby clash.
The high-flying Sky Blues have yet to taste defeat since the arrival of Graham Arnold and came from behind to win the round two clash between the teams 3-2 in round two at Allianz Stadium.
Popovic’s side are anchored to the foot of the ladder after six games and have been held at home by the lowly Central Coast and Newcastle in their last two games after four straight losses.
However, the former Socceroos defender claims he’s spotted signs his side are ready to break their duck in front of a sold out Pirtek Stadium.
“We want to win every game we play. That’s why we’ve won an ACL, won a premiers plate and been in two grand finals,” Popovic said.
“Derby games are special. Every player wants to be involved in that and the fans look forward to it.
“We had a poor result in round two, were up 2-0 and fell away in the second half which was disappointing. But we’ve improved a lot since then.”
Brisbane coach Mike Mulvey was shown the door this weekend after a poor start to the season by the Roar, just six months after beating the Wanderers in the grand final.
The is no question of Popovic being on shaky ground having led the club to the Asian Champions League earlier this month and Popovic insists he is not under pressure to beat the Sky Blues and get a win on the board.
“Of course, we feel like we need to win matches but I wouldn’t say this is a must-win.
“The last two games have been very good. Performances have improved.
“We had four away game to start with. There are circumstance and reasons but not excuses.
“We lost four games in a row. It’s not something we’ve done before, we’re not accustomed to that, but in the last few games we’ve seen a real improvement in performance. We just haven’t been able to get that win.”
Danno
Guest
Another thing people often fail to mention is that Saba is only 24 and so has a lot of potential to improve. He is one of the most technically sound players in the league and just needs some time to adjust. Everyone was constantly going on about Mooy and his potential, well Saba is the same age.
Matthew Skellett
Guest
You know the true greatness of Popa's ACL achievement will only be fully appreciated when another HAL Club tries to emulate it ;-)
Josh
Guest
He needs another 3-5 matches, he is getting better which is great.
Josh
Guest
Agreed but if they have a remarkable turnaround and step up in Morocco then the question will be answered.
Gareth
Guest
In my honest opinion, and I'm not just having a go because I come from the other side of the city, if the players and club are not worrying about the A-Leage because of the club world cup that's extremely unprofessional. They club needs to perform well year in year out in order to continue to qualify for Asia to continue playing internationally. Ignoring the A-League results for 2 weeks because of the ACL is understandable, ignoring the A-League for 10 weeks due to the CWC will kill their season and result in them not even qualifying for the ACL group stage. The club needs to be thinking more long term than that, I'd be disappointed if they weren't.
Josh
Guest
That's a valid observation, I'm sure others would write that off as an excuse but there's every chance the players are of the 'worry about the A League when we get back from playing Real Madrid' mindset. For players like Juric and Spiranovic who want to play overseas - this club World Cup is really their moment in the sun.
pete4
Guest
World Club Cup kicks off in Morocco from 10-20 December. Hard to see how WSW cannot have 1 eye already on that in 2 weeks time IMO
AZ_RBB
Guest
"I find he is not getting the ball played to him the way he wants" Will be keeping an eye out for that in between hurling expletives at Ognenovski on Saturday.
RBBAnonymous
Guest
I find he is not getting the ball played to him the way he wants. You play the ball at Saba's feet which is where he wants it. For Ruka he is a different proposition, you can play balls in behind the defence and let him chase and run balls down. He has the pace to trouble most fullbacks. Saba is still a very skillful player who is just not getting a lot of calls, especially after his accusations of diving. You can see he is a little frustrated. He will go okay once he gets settled in and has more game time.
Franko
Guest
Ruka is one who has bags of potential that hopefully Poppa can unleash. Just never got going after moving from Berlin to Mainz and his career has really stalled. At the WC in South Africa, he looked like he'd be the next one to step up, but has really been overtaken by Leckie. His pace could be a real weapon for Popovic in his preferred counter-attacking game plan.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Saba seems to be struggling with the discipline and strength of A-League defences. He is closed down and dispossessed very quickly. Always felt that some foreign players under estimate the quality of A-League defences. I think it was Alex Wilkinson saying the other day that although some of the bigger Asian leagues have the pace and technical ability, their defensive structure is nowhere near that of Australian clubs.
danno
Guest
Castelen, Juric, Ruka & Saba has the potential to be the best front 4 in the league. They aren't there yet though, so it could be a tough game on saturday.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Curious to see how deep WSW sit. Morale is a little low at the moment so we might be a bit risk adverse and aim (hope) to be successful purely on the counter.
Gareth
Guest
Agreed. Despite both teams preferring a defensive style of play, there should be plenty of attacking football going around.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Hoping both teams turn up and WSW prevails in the end. Even without Gameiro, SFC's attack will be very different to contain. One goal won't do it for WSW. Castelen/Ruka/Juric v Ibini/Janko/Brosque will be a great battle. Would like to see Spira in midfield for us as I don't think La Rocca and Poljak have been up to standard in the last couple of weeks.
Gareth
Guest
"Tony Popovic has warned Sydney FC his Wanderers side are not far away from a first A-League win of the season" That's cute. In all seriousness though, I'm expecting this to be a very good game. The wanderers have been improving and a win would go a long way to kick starting their season, I'm hoping we can keep them on 2 points for a little bit longer though.