Central Coast Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson admits he and his squad have been dumped back to earth with a thud, after returning to the training pitch following a week-long break.
Central Coast Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson admits he and his squad have been dumped back to earth with a thud, after returning to the training pitch following a week-long break.
The squad was rewarded by Head Coach Graham Arnold with five days off following three wins and a draw in their past four starts, and Wilkinson says while the group feels fresh, the heavy work has well and truly returned.
“It was nice to get away but when you come back in and Clarky (Head of Sports Science Andrew Clark) is setting up all these cones and you know you are going to get flogged it-s not the best feeling, but it-s all right, it has to be done. If you are going to have a few days off we have to pay for it a bit and make sure we get our fitness and sharpness back before we start next week,” said Wilkinson.
The Mariners still have another five days before their next competitive hitout, against the equally high flying Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
“It-s a bit different. It-s not too often during a season you get five days off and have such a big break like we-ve got.
“I think we can use it to our advantage, we had five days away from football where all the boys got away, relaxed and got their niggling injuries right. We-re back now, feeling fresh but paying for it, it-s been a pretty hard week but we-re looking forward to getting out and playing Brisbane, it-s going to be a good test for us,” said Wilkinson.
Wednesday-s clash could well be an opportunity for the Mariners to move into second spot on their own, should the Roar fail to overcome a Newcastle Jets side tomorrow night, which is full of confidence following its recent change of ownership.
The Mariners and Roar are both on 15 points, six adrift of league leader Adelaide United but each with a game in hand, and Wilkinson is delighted with the club-s start so far, which has seen it lose just once in its opening eight fixtures.
“If you-d given us that at the start of the season we would have taken it. There-s definitely room for improvement but nine weeks in and sitting second on the league is a fantastic position for us to be in.
“We have a pretty tough road run now, five games in a row away, but if we can maintain our position there it sets us up really well when we come back to Bluetongue,” said Wilkinson.
Continuing the positive form will be a challenge against the red-hot Roar, but it-s a challenge the Yellow and Navy are more than up for.
“If they get a win on the weekend they will come in full of confidence, but it-s going to be a very good test for us, and a big game.
“They-re equal with us on points and some of the football they-ve been playing has been pretty good, so it-s going to be a good test for us but I-m more than confident with us being so fresh and hopefully going into the game nice and sharp that we-ve got enough to get the points up there,” Wilkinson said.
