Sydney FC defender Alexandar Popovic admits the Sky Blues must improve to have any hope of winning the A-League title, but says belief is strong among his teammates ahead of Saturday night’s semi-final first-leg against Newcastle at Allianz Stadium.
The Sky Blues snatched a late winner in last Saturday’s elimination final against Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park to secure a shot at the A-League premiers over two legs.
“We didn’t have our best game (against Victory), and we have a lot to improve on if we want to win the whole thing … (but) we’re Sydney FC – we always have to be confident,” Popovic said on Wednesday.
“You can never count us out. We know we can come back from anything. We always believe.”
Popovic said the semi-final battle with the Jets would hinge on “who wants it more”.
“We approach it like any other game. We listen to the boss (coach Patrick Kisnorbo), try to execute the plan and work as hard as we can,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of quality, and we just want to keep improving.”
That “quality” includes star English winger Joe Lolley, who is set to make his first appearance since early March when he suffered a serious ankle injury.
“Everyone knows what Joe can provide for this team. We’re just happy to have him back fit and involved again,” Popovic said.
Sydney midfielder Wataru Kamijo said Kisnorbo, who has only had five games in charge of the Sky Blues following the departure of Ufuk Talay, had instilled confidence in the squad.
“We’ve just got to keep listening to what he says,” said 20-year-old Kamijo, who has grabbed the opportunities given to him by Kisnorbo after struggling for game time under Talay.
“It’s really exciting for me. Playing right now is really enjoyable.”
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