Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well and had a safe and happy New Years!
For us, this week was business as usual getting back to our best ahead of Saturday’s Sydney Derby at Stadium Australia.
Following the two-week gap between our game against the Phoenix, we had some time to recoup and spend some time with our families which was especially nice after being in quarantine after our AFC Champions League campaign.
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With no game last week, it was all about hard work and preparation to freshen up and get back into the swing of things to ensure we’re ready ahead of Saturday’s fixture against the Wanderers.
This game for us is business as usual, just because it’s a Derby I think it’s important we don’t change how we prepare; we went about our week pretty normally. We also had an internal game last weekend to replicate a 90-minute A-League game.
Players obviously look forward to the game because of the atmosphere they bring but we need to ensure we don’t get caught up in the occasion and focus on the game.
We had a look at how they [Wanderers] play but mostly we’ve been concentrating on ourselves and what we’re going to do when we have the ball and when we don’t. If we do that well, we’ll win the game.
It’s important to get momentum building at the start of the season with fixtures becoming more regular. Hopefully we continue to maintain weekly games, and if we can string together a couple results especially against our local rivals it breeds confidence and put us into a winning mentality as we pursue our record breaking ‘Threepeat’.
A win will also see me become the first player to achieve 150 A-League wins. It’s a feat which is a tremendous honour, and one that also reflects on the success of Sydney FC in recent seasons. Achieving it against the Wanderers will make it that extra bit sweeter too.
I know we’ll have a strong presence of Sky Blues’ Members and fans and I would like to extend my appreciation for all of your support, whether you can make the game or you watch from home, your support will give the lads that extra edge.
As stadiums begin to introduce larger and larger crowds, I would also like to encourage all Members and fans of both teams to follow the guidelines set out by NSW Health. Please ensure you wear a mask on public transport, entering and leaving the stadium and in any other insistences when social distancing isn’t possible.
That’s all from me for now. Our focus is fully on Saturday’s game and I can’t wait to see you all there!
Alex Wilkinson,
Sydney FC Captain
