Gun attacker Danny DeSilva is confident his side can finish the Hyundai A-League season with their tails up, following the release of the remaining fixtures on Wednesday.
The Mariners have clashes remaining against Perth Glory, Newcastle, Western Sydney and Melbourne Victory, with at least three of the matches to be played at Central Coast Stadium.
DeSilva scored as the Mariners beat Perth in Round Four over in the West, and said his side are ready to fire in the final four games of the campaign.
“For us as a team we don’t see any reason why we can’t try and win all four of those games,” he said.
“It’s not many games left so we’ve got to go out there with the mentality that we can win, and we’ve been able to beat some of those teams in the season so again there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.”
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— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) June 23, 2020
Now two weeks into training since the return of football, Alen Stajcic’s side have roughly three weeks before their first clash against the Glory at Central Coast Stadium and with matches coming thick and fast DeSilva said he’s looking forward to plenty of football.
“It will be really good, and personally I prefer to be playing matches rather than training so it will be good having quick turnarounds and the like,” he said.
The Mariners will complete all their matches by the 3rd of August, when they face Melbourne Victory, and with only two full days between their second and third matches the management of recovery will be pivotal.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it, but it will so important that we do the right things like recover properly, and gives ourselves the best possible opportunity to win every game by managing all of that.”
Still just 23 years old but with a wealth of experience under his belt, DeSilva is hopeful he can be a leader amongst a young team but also has more to learn from the senior members of the group.
“I guess I try and play my part, I’ve been around for a while since I was 15 so I know the league quite well,” he said.
“So for the young boys that are coming up and through I try and help them come through but I’m still young, I’m still learning, and there’s still players that I look up to and watch what they’re doing.”
“I just try to play my part as a player and a teammate and hopefully I can be that leader for some people.”
Central Coast Mariners fixtures |
Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners – Saturday, 18th July, 5:00pm @ Central Coast Stadium
Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets – Friday, 24th July, 7:30pm @ Central Coast Stadium
Central Coast Mariners v WS Wanderers – Monday, 27th July, 7:30pm @ Central Coast Stadium
Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners – Monday, 3rd August, 7:30pm @ TBC
