Melbourne Victory coach Tony Popovic spoke on Monday morning ahead of the team’s first Semi-Final leg against Western United on Tuesday night at AAMI Park.
Tuesday’s clash is the first of two Semi-Final legs, with the teams duelling again on Saturday back at AAMI Park for a place in the Grand Final.
Popovic on the team’s mood…
“The excitement has risen, that’s for sure.”
“We’re delighted to be here. We’ve had a very good season and now it’s the time of the year you want to be associated with as a coaching staff, as a Club, as players, and we want to make the most of it.”
on their preparations…
“We earned the right to have the weekend off…some individuals did recovery, some did extra training. We feel we’ve used the week off well and are ready to go.”
on playing at AAMI Park…
“We’re playing at AAMI Park so we know we’ll have a lot of support behind us from a lot of fans who have been waiting a long time to be in this situation.”
“I believe they have been great for us throughout the year and we’ve made the most of that. We’ve embraced their support and feel like we’re a real collective in terms of achieving on the pitch.”
“I believe they’ll be the twelfth man who can help us get over the line.”
Watch the full press conference:
