Perth Glory skipper Jacob Burns is confident the West Aussies are better prepared to tackle interstate rivals Adelaide in a blockbuster Friday night clash than their first meeting on opening weekend.
Perth Glory skipper Jacob Burns is confident the West Aussies are better prepared to tackle interstate rivals Adelaide in a blockbuster Friday night clash than their first meeting on opening weekend.
While Burns will be sidelined for the battle at ME Bank Stadium, he has no doubt the club can find retribution after a narrow loss to United at Hindmarsh Stadium in round one.
“They caught us at a time when we were all just coming together, but I think this time it will be a whole different playing field,” Burns said.
“There were a few of us that had missed most of the games in the pre-season and in my own personal experience I was underdone. I only just made it back in time for the Adelaide game.
“I-m disappointed to miss this opportunity to get one back but we have great depth and we will be out there to take the three points,” Burns said.
Unbeaten at home and with seven points from a possible nine in their past three outings, including two wins on the road, Perth Glory are entrenched near the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder, but the players know there is still plenty of work to do.
“In our performance we just want some consistency in our game, we want to be playing at the top level and we want to be playing well for the fans, especially at home.
“We seem to be getting the results away even though we know we aren-t playing our best.
“Mitch always says that good teams work on the things they need to work on whether they are winning, drawing results or losing. If there is still room for improvement in certain areas it can only benefit the team in the long run,” Burns said.
Unfortunately, Burns will reduced to just an onlooker for Friday-s clash, after an accumulation of yellow cards automatically ruled him out.
The skipper is disappointed that he won-t be leading his team onto the pitch, but says he will be working just as hard this week to get the boys confident and ready to go.
“I-m beside myself that I have to miss it, but these things happen in football.
“I-ll be there fully supporting the boys and doing as much as I can this week to get us firing for this all important game. I-m sure we-ll do well. I have the upmost faith in the squad,” Burns said.
