Foxe queries Mariners' A-League toughness
Oct 13, 2017 - 1:03 AM Western Sydney Wanderers caretaker coach Hayden Foxe has questioned the physical resolve of the Central Coast Mariners on the eve of their A-League clash at Spotless Stadium.The Mariners were thumped 5-1 by visitors Newcastle Jets in their opening round match last weekend.
Foxe was complimentary about the Mariners' style and the job coach Paul Okon was doing, but added some spice to Saturday's game by casting doubt on their ability to handle the more physical elements of their opposition.
"They have a lot of the ball they are really nice and neat on the eye," Foxe said of the Mariners.
"He (Okon) has done a good job, he's transformed that team from when he took over to being a very handy and successful possession-based side.
"One thing I did notice, that they don't like physicality, so we'll see where that ends up."
Foxe made it clear the Wanderers weren't going to resort to any unduly rough play to test his theory.
"You want to play the game in the right form of mind," Foxe said.
"It's not for us to be dirty, or to bring the game into disrepute at all.
"I just noticed that Newcastle were a strong physical side."
Okon wasn't aware of Foxe's comments when he conducted his media conference, but expected a far better defensive effort than last week.
"It was disappointing, but we're quite confident that we'll get back to where we were in pre-season and we're not going to concede five goals," Okon said.
"We know when we're in possession, that we're going to have to keep it and not allow the game to be a transitional game."
Okon has defender Storm Roux back from injury and attacker Andrew Hoole is available again after serving a suspension.
The Wanderers have Socceroo defenderJosh Risdon back from international duty and a full set of fit outfield players.
"I've got a real good headache in a selection process,'"Foxe said.
He wanted his side to close out games better, saying they looked nervy in the latter part of last week's match after playing so well for the first hour.
STATS THAT MATTER
*The Wanderers have won their last three games at Spotless Stadium after going winless in their first six games at the venue
*Mariners' defender Josh Rose is poised to make his 200th A-League starting appearance, becoming just the ninth outfield player to achieve that mark.
*Wanderers' striker Brendon Santalab is set to play his 100th game, having scored six goals in his last six games against the Mariners.
Stats provided by Opta.
Source: AAP
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