Striker Scott McDonald says the Roar squad are ‘enjoying eachother’s company’ and in high spirits ahead of tomorrow night’s blockbuster clash against the Phoenix in Newcastle.
The Roar are looking to book a spot in the Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Finals Series with a win and preparations have them well placed to do just that.
“We’re in a good place right now. It’s been good for us to get away as a group with the new manager in place to install some ideas and put his identity on the team a little bit,” McDonald said.
“There’s been a real positive vibe around the place.
“We’ve got a fantastic spirit and a fantastic group; we had a great day off yesterday, we enjoyed each other’s company which is something rare in football with the number of changerooms I’ve been it.
“That’s testament to the playing group here and the spirit that we have.”
The two sides head into the clash having split the ledger so far this campaign with Dylan Wenzel-Halls snatching the crucial goal in the last meeting back in January.
That fixture was McDonald’s first for the Club and preceded an enjoyable period in the experienced striker’s football career.
“I’ve just really enjoyed my football since coming to Brisbane. I think my performances so far have been of a standard that I accept – I’m always looking for more though and wanting more goals,” McDonald added.
“The most important thing for me is the team achieving its goal and getting to where we need to be.”
Head Coach Warren Moon secured his first win at the helm last Wednesday night and says a strong week on the pitch has his troops well positioned with 24 hours to go.
“It’s going to be a good challenge for us, but we’re excited for the challenge and looking forward to it,” Moon said.
“We’re only looking up. We’re certainly going into the game to win – it’s a good test & if we get the three points it sets us up well going into finals.
“We’ve had a good week and now we’re ready for that next test.”
Moon named an unchanged 20-man squad for the fixture while the Nix will be without former Roar defender Luke DeVere through suspension.
“They’re a very good opposition. Obviously Luke DeVere is suspended so they’ll have to make a change in their back four & hopefully we can use that to our advantage to try and break them down in certain areas,” McDonald continued.
“We know their threats & how good they’ve been. We could go on & on about their team…let’s not forget we’re only two points behind them so we must be doing something right as well.”
