Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert has denied that his players will be daunted by the trip to Sydney for Saturday's A-League preliminary final, saying the trip across the Tasman Sea holds no fears.
Sydney has defeated Wellington on all three occasions this season and despite losing the chance to host the Grand Final with a defeat to Melbourne in the major semi-final, goes into Saturday's clash as favourite.
But after prevailing in knockout finals over Perth on penalties and then Newcastle in extra time, Herbert feels like the momentum is with his side and they are prepared to cause an upset and become the first New Zealand side to make an Australian domestic league final.
"I think last week was extremely positive given some of them coming back from Mexico and a couple of boys coming back from the Australian national team. If we we're going to fall over in a game that was it. But we didn’t. Those players really stepped up. They'll be freshened up this week and they'll come here and give everything," Herbert said in Melbourne on Thursday.
"Sydney is not really a daunting place to go, if I'm honest. I think they are a great supportive crowd, but it won't be intimidating or anything. I think we'll probably get a few of our fans across and they'll make a bit of noise. We know what to expect. We've had 100,000 at our last four games albeit they all supporting us."
Wellington is coming off a run of five wins heading into this game, while Sydney suffered a loss in a draw in its matches against Melbourne. Herbert believes that contrast in form should play in the underdog's favour.
"Sometimes it's that little one per cent that can make a difference. I think they will be really disappointed that they won’t host the Grand Final and that they have to go through this to even get there. For us, it’s uncharted territory that we're excited to be in and we're hungry enough to go through to the Grand Final," he said.
"It's not competition points on the line anymore it's just a football match. Somebody has to be out of it at the end of the day. I think that might just stand us in good stead. The players are really hungry, they want to turn around those three losses. I think it’s a little bit more in our court than theirs," he said.
"To progress this far has probably superseded a lot of people's expectations. I think we are in with a chance. We're playing as well as anybody, our form's been better than anybody in the league.
They've been a tough team to beat."
Herbert said that he is buzzing at the moment despite a past eight days which has seen him fly to and from Los Angeles for a friendly match with the All Whites, then back to New Zealand for Sunday's game, before it was back to Melbourne on Thursday for a promotion for the All Whites match against the Socceroos in May.
While his life will be a blur heading up to the World Cup, but he is loving every moment of it.
"I'm not sure what I’d do if I wasn't doing this to be honest. I probably wouldn't settle down too well. It’s great, it’s where we want football in the country and it's happening so it’s great to be a part of it," he said.