While Head Coach Graham Arnold can’t name everyone in the Sorrento FC squad, he’ll be approaching Wednesday’s Westfield FFA Cup clash at nib Stadium like any other competitive fixture.
Arnold labelled the match a “banana skin” for his young side only two weeks into preseason training, but praised the FFA’s initiative to move the match to the larger nib Stadium saying it will benefit his team immensely.
“I think that it’s going to be a good challenge for us,” he said.
“I have a lot of confidence in all of our young boys. We’ll only have two players over the age of 30 in Alex Brosque and Shane Smeltz, the rest are new players I’ve brought in or young kids from last year and I’m looking forward to seeing how we go.
“Obviously the names aren’t that known to us except for his [Head Coach Jamie Harnwell’s] brother but at the end of the day once they get on the field it doesn’t matter,” he continued.
“I think FFA have done us a favour [playing at nib Stadium]. I can’t tell you what Sorrento’s ground is like, but no doubt having to play on a smaller stadium and on a rough pitch would have played more into their hands.
“The fact we’re playing at nib, great stadium, fantastic surface and the fact that we know it well, it’ll make it a bit easier.
“It’s definitely a banana skin, but we’ve got to go over there and make sure that we take pride in the Sydney FC shirt, the badge and make sure that it isn’t that.”
Arnold hinted that further signings were on the way as he confirmed he still has space in the salary cap for two more players as he vowed to continue his attacking philosophy in the 2015/16 season.
“I think from day one to the end of the end of the season we developed a lot,” Arnold said.
“I won’t go away from the attacking style and I think if you look at the recruitment I’ve done a lot of that is up front.
“Our philosophy is if they score three we score four because we had that much power going forward and again with the new guys I recruited and you look at the boys I’ve got up front, I’m going to have plenty of sleepless nights trying to fit everyone in. I think our strike force will be as lethal as last year.
“We’ve got two more spots, we’ve got a little bit of money left in the cap and we will probably look for another attacking player, similar style to what we’ve got and someone that fits in the budget.”
Sydney FC take on Sorrento FC in the round of 32 of the Westfield FFA Cup. Follow @SydneyFC on Twitter for match updates or catch the game live on Fox Sports 4.
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