John van’t Schip believes his Melbourne City side will be an unbreakable unit ready for any finals challenges.
In strong contention for the Premiers’ Plate leading into the last two weeks of the campaign, things have been by no means easy for the A-League’s glamour club and their coach, who have come across in leaps and bounds since the first few weeks of the season.
“I’ve said from the start we saw the group was getting stronger, players getting fitter and coming back from injury,” said van’t Schip to the media yesterday.
“We have to look at ourselves, concentrate and be focused on what we’re doing and take it from there.
“We’re happy that we’re in this position, but again we have to approach the game, play and follow the game plan.”
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Their opponents for the penultimate outing of the regular season in Perth Glory have evolved their squad after a tough early run themselves to charge into the A-League top six. On their home turf and brimming with confidence, van’t Schip can hardly take it easy as the finals approach.
“All have teams had trouble going up to Perth,” he claimed.
“This team is already different from last season and the one before, also different from the last game we played there.
“We just have to take it as the game comes, we’re preparing in the best possible way, it’s a final kind of game, it’s a game we need to win.”
City have also been able to further silence any doubts that surrounded their depth by cruising to victory over the Wellington Phoenix last weekend without the services of Alex Wilkinson and the talismanic Aaron Mooy.
“It’s a good sign to see, the players who came in, Connor [Chapman] and Anthony [Caceres], did a great job,” said van’t Schip
“We just continued what we left in the last game before Aaron and Alex left for the national team.”
Mooy’s star continues to rise after two stellar performances for the Socceroos, and many would expect the playmaker to be a pivotal figure in the finals series.
“Aaron continues to do what he’s doing, I think the main and most important thing is he doesn’t get bothered what happens around him,” said the City coach.
“The moment he steps onto the pitch, that’s his comfort zone, that’s where he knows he can express himself and that’s what he’s doing.”
Melbourne City take on the Glory at nib Stadium on Sunday evening.
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