Richard Garcia believes that his players must maintain their current mindset in order to make it three victories on the bounce at the expense of Western Sydney Wanderers at HBF Park on Sunday (kick-off at 6.15pm, tickets HERE).
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The impressive wins over Melbourne Victory and Western United in the space of four days have bolstered Glory’s Finals hopes to the extent that should they down Wanderers, the men in purple could move to within three points of the top six.
And Garcia feels that his charges need to draw confidence from their previous two performances in order to keep the resurgence on track.
“We need the same belief and the same mentality,” he said.
“You can tell that togetherness is there and that the players are really feeding off each other and driving each other which is really pleasing to see.
“They need to continue to have that belief in themselves and each other.
“It’s been good to see their confidence return within themselves as well as as a group.”
The Head Coach went on to reaffirm that he and his staff are adopting a dual focus in terms of the remainder of this season and their plans for the future.
“That [making the Finals] is in the back of everyone’s mind,” he said, “but the main thing is to continue with that same belief and mindset that we’ve started to grow.
“We’re definitely rebuilding.
“It’s about trying to grow a sustainable team that can push forward and that takes time.
“Any type of change takes time and it’s about us getting that change right, keeping the guys we want to keep and are able to keep and bringing in guys that want to be here and play for the club.
“It’s got nothing to do with age, it’s got to do with what you bring to the table as a person and as a professional.
“That’s the biggest thing; that we have the right players and the right characters within the environment.”
Wanderers, meanwhile, will head to HBF Park looking to build upon impressive back-to-back wins over Sydney FC and Western United and in doing so, force their way back into the top six.
And Garcia is certainly not underestimating the threat posed by Carl Robinson’s side.
“They have a lot of pace up front and are very direct and like to get in behind,” he said.
“We know they’ve got those weapons and we’ve got to be wary of that.”
In terms of early team news, Garcia reported no fresh injuries emanating from Wednesday’s game and Wanderers are also expected to name a close to full-strength squad.
Match Details
Sunday, 16 May 2021
Perth Glory v Western Sydney Wanderers FC
HBF Park, Perth
Kick-Off: 6:15pm (Local)(8:15pm (AEST))
Referee: Daniel Elder
Assistant Referee 1: Josh Mannella
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Southern
Fourth Official: Adam Fielding
VAR: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tag #PERvWSW
To purchase tickets visit www.a-league.com.au/tickets
Perth Glory squad: 1.Tando VELAPHI (gk), 2.Jason GERIA, 5.Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 6.Osama MALIK, 7.Chris IKONOMIDIS, 8.Kosuke OTA, 9.Bruno FORNAROLI, 10.Andy KEOGH, 11.Joel CHIANESE, 13.Luke BODNAR, 17.Diego CASTRO, 18.Nick D’AGOSTINO, 19.Callum TIMMINS, 20.Carlo ARMIENTO, 23.Dane INGHAM, 24.Daniel STYNES, 29.Darryl LACHMAN, 33.Liam REDDY (gk), 37.Riley WARLAND, 38.Ciaran BRAMWELL
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 8.Kosuke OTA (promoted), 23.Dane INGHAM (promoted), 38.Ciaran BRAMWELL (promoted)
Outs: 22.Joshua RAWLINS (omitted)
Unavailable: 4.Sebastian LANGKAMP (groin 2-4 weeks)
Western Sydney Wanderers FC squad: 2.Ziggy GORDON, 4.Dylan MCGOWAN, 6.Tass MOURDOUKOUTAS, 7.Bruce KAMAU, 8.Steven UGARKOVIC, 9.Bernie IBINI, 11.Kwame YEBOAH, 12.Mitchell DUKE, 13.Tate RUSSELL, 14.James TROISI, 17.Keanu BACCUS, 18.Graham DORRANS, 19.Jordon MUTCH, 27.Nicolai MULLER, 30.Daniel MARGUSH (GK), 33.Mark NATTA, 34.Patrick ZIEGLER, 39.Thomas AQUILINA, 50.Oliver KALAC (GK), 77.Scott MCDONALD
**2-4 to be omitted**
Ins: 4.Dylan MCGOWAN (promoted), 11.Kwame YEBOAH (promoted), 50.Oliver KALAC (promoted)
Outs: 40.Noah JAMES (gk) (Not selected)
#OneGlory
