Head Coach John van ‘t Schip has revealed himself confident in Melbourne Heart FC’s chances of launching a charge into the latter stages of the Hyundai A-League Finals Series.
Head Coach John van ‘t Schip has revealed himself confident in Melbourne Heart FC-s chances of launching a charge into the latter stages of the Hyundai A-League Finals Series.
Unbeaten in six matches, Heart will enter the playoffs in a rich vein of form, and with a full complement of 23 players available for selection.
While the streaky nature of Heart-s season is reflective in its ladder position, the Red and White loom as a genuine dark horse of the competition, having defeated each of its top six rivals at one point during the season.
Indeed, Heart remains undefeated in outings against Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar this season, while van ‘t Schip-s outfit registered a hard-fought 2-1 triumph during its only trip across the Nullarbor back in December.
Despite Heart-s track record against its rivals however, it isn-t past results which has van ‘t Schip optimistic about his side-s prospects.
Van ‘t Schip believes Heart-s depth and litany of potential match winners, including Club Captain Fred, leading scorer Eli Babalj and Mate Dugandzic, makes the team an ominous proposition for any rival.
“We go into the finals with a lot of confidence because we have a strong team,” he said.
“We’re getting stronger and stronger so I’m confident about our chances.”
Echoing van ‘t Schip-s sentiments, midfield gun Fred said the playing group is ready to launch a legitimate finals assault, starting with Perth Glory on Sunday night (Melbourne time).
“I think the whole group feels very confident going into the finals and whoever we play we have to try our best to win the game,” he said.
“We have worked hard for the whole season and now we have to be focused and ready.”
Melbourne Heart FC returns to training on Monday ahead of its debut finals clash, with the side travelling to West Australia on Saturday afternoon.
