It’s his explanation for Sydney FC’s derby dominance and the reason Graham Arnold’s A-League champions are on the verge of another premiership.
“We’re better – it’s simple,” Arnold said.
The Sky Blues were supposed to be there for the taking by Western Sydney on Sunday, supposedly fatigued from a midweek Asian Champions League trip to China and with three forced changes to a rarely altered starting XI.
“Everyone thinks that all the time at the Wanderers,” Arnold said.
“At the end of the day the stats don’t lie, and this is a pretty lopsided derby – I think the most lopsided derby in Australian football.
“The Melbourne derby’s closer and I think even the F3 derby is closer between the Mariners and Newcastle.”
From the last 13 Sydney derbies the Sky Blues have lost just once.
And while the revived Wanderers refused to go quietly, they were ill-equipped to deal with Sydney’s moments of quality – an Adrian Mierzejewski brace and a third from Bobo set up exquisitely by Milos Ninkovic – in the 3-1 triumph.
As it stands, Sydney must win only their next two games to ensure the Premiers’ Plate is theirs for a second successive season.
Arnold, the ultimate goal-setter, ticked off target No.1 when his side passed 50 points.
Now on 52, the aim is to claim all 18 still on offer to reach 70 and eclipse last season’s points record of 66.
Newcastle will attempt to extinguish that objective this weekend and close the 11-point gap between first and second, having seen off Brisbane 1-0 thanks to Joe Champness’ late winner.
Eight points below them a crucial Melbourne derby could bring fourth-placed Victory to the brink of dislodging City in third.
In two most unexpected results, Kevin Muscat’s men swept to a 3-0 win over Adelaide to unseat the Reds in fifth, while Warren Joyce’s side blew a one-goal lead to fall 2-1 to Perth.
A Victory triumph on Friday night would lift them within a point of their cross-city rivals, an unexpected place given the boos of fans frustrated by three losses on the trot under off-contract coach Muscat.
Including Asian Champions League, Victory were winless in five matches, most recently Tuesday’s 4-1 away loss to Shanghai SIPG.
“Why can’t we use the Asian Champions League to our advantage?” Muscat said.
“We speak to the players and say, ‘we’re getting more conditioning, we’re getting more opportunities to try things, we get more of an opportunity to work on how we play and get match-hardened’.
“I thought that held us in good stead (against Adelaide), that opportunity to have those games – against world-class opposition.”
On Friday night ninth-placed Central Coast steered clear of the wooden spoon with a 1-0 win over cellar rock-bottom Wellington.
NEMESIS
Guest
You realize SydFc finished Top of their Group in 2016? If that's called "struggling" then not sure how you're positive about this shaky start.
Buddy
Guest
Yes i watched the 2016 ACL games and thought SFC struggled for the most part. I don’t really agree that there is no time to warm to the task though although on paper 1 point from 2 games doesn’t sound crash hot. Time will tell but MV appear to have a much tougher group to get out of.
Nemesis
Guest
Forget about "could" & "should" have won. MVFC could & should have won in Melb vs Ulsan. But, we didn't. There are 6 Group matches. There is little room for "warming to the task". Did you watch the ACL Groups in 2016? After the opening 2 matches, with an inferior squad than they have this year, SydFC had 3 points, which included a win at home against one of the strongest teams in East Asia: Guangzhou Evergrande. There was no warming to the task during that ACL campaign.
That A-League Fan
Roar Guru
Totally agree with Nemesis' first comment. Sydney FC are definitely "beatable". Was wondering why Sydney FC said they could win the ACL before that match. Out of Australia, they're not much good.
Buddy
Guest
I’d urge caution at the moment. It might just be that they are warming to the task or adapting to the change in style and type of game. They could or should have won in Shanghai last week, so who knows what will happen in the remaining four matches?
Nemesis
Guest
Sure. Fully understand. We all were eager to see how they'd match up in the ACL. After Match Day 1, we got some idea - they were well behind their KLeague opponent. On Match Day 2, Syd improved. So far, in ACL, they aren't any better than they were 2 seasons ago.
Buddy
Guest
Nem, I didn’t suggest they could. I just want to see it to find out for myself and to see where they are in relation to J and K League teams and the Chinese super league with money to burn. I’m curious that’s all as the A League isn’t really offering up any great challenges right now.
Nemesis
Guest
Hold on a minute. SydFC were spanked at their alleged Fortress - their House - by a relatively average team by ACL standards in Suwon. Why would you think SydFC could have dealt with the likes of Oscar & Hulk away from home?
Buddy
Guest
No argument. They are better, stronger, fitter, more affessive, more resiliant, more cohesive. Right now I’d happily switch off the A League and their duties to try and see how well they compare to the clubs in asia. Could they have dealt with the likes of Oscar and Hulk? Is the top of the J League and K League producing better teams or is it just the money available for overseas imports? I have no questions unanswered locally in the A League at present. I just want a slightly more global perspective.