Sydney FC Head Coach Steve Corica has smacked down any talk of the Wanderers being the better team in Sydney.
Stoking the flames ahead of Saturday’s massive Sydney Derby encounter at Stadium Australia, Corica had a simple reply when quizzed on whether the Wanderers recent derby fortunes made them the leading side in the city.
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“I think they’re a long shot from that [being the best team in Sydney],” he said.
“They’re a good team, Carl has them playing a good brand of football and they’ve brought in some good players. We focus on our game, we want to win of course.
“We drew with them last game but it’s a new season, new coach, new players and we just want to keep moving forward and pick up the three points.
“I’m looking forward to it, the derby is always special, it’s the first one of the season as well,” he continued.
“It’s something to look forward to. It’s a great stadium, hopefully we get some good support and get the three points because that’s the main thing at the end of the day.”
Reflecting on his squad selection ahead of the encounter, Corica said that Brazilian star Bobô would not feature, while doubt was also cast over youngster Calem Nieuwenhof following a knock at training on Wednesday.
“Calem has a bit of a swollen ankle, it happened yesterday at training, so he’ll train tomorrow and we’ll see how he goes,” Corica said.
“Everyone’s been impressed with him, he’s been doing a great job.
“Bobô won’t be playing. He obviously just got out of quarantine and he needs probably a couple of weeks before we’re ready to consider him into the team,” he continued.
“He needs to work on his fitness a little bit, he’s been training but not playing so it may take him a couple of weeks to get into it.
“We needed to bring in another striker as well to make sure we have the depth in the squad and cover.
“He gives us another dimension to how we want to play, he’s a bigger boy to what we’ve got, he’s great in the air and that’s something we can add to our game as well.”
Sydney FC face the Western Sydney Wanderers in a massive Sydney Derby doubleheader at Stadium Australia on Saturday 16th January. Get your tickets now and be there to back your Sky Blues!
