It’s shaping up as the preliminary final dress rehearsal, but Perth Glory coach Ian Ferguson is adamant he won’t treat Saturday night’s A-League clash with Brisbane differently to any other game.
The Glory surged into third spot on the table on Saturday night with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle Jets at nib Stadium.
Earlier that day, Brisbane moved a step closer to shoring up second place with a thrilling 3-2 triumph over Melbourne Victory.
Going on current ladder positions, Brisbane and Perth are a fair chance to meet in the preliminary final in mid-April.
But Ferguson said it would be dangerous to look that far ahead, claiming his team still hadn’t done enough to guarantee themselves a finals spot, let alone a top-three finish.
“I don’t feel as though we can start looking at games too far ahead,” Ferguson said.
“There’s no use looking at that.
“It’s one game at a time and that’s what I’m trying to drum into the boys.
“You want to get in that top six and, if we can finish higher than that, then it’s a bonus.
“The football we’re playing and the points we’re accumulating, hopefully we can go a little bit further.”
Ferguson remains hopeful star striker Shane Smeltz (ankle) will be ready to resume against Brisbane, who have recovered from their mid-season slump to record three wins on the trot.
But the Glory could be without influential midfielder Liam Miller, who limped off early against the Jets after experiencing tightness in his hamstring.
Goals to substitute Adam Hughes and striker Billy Mehmet were enough to sink Newcastle, who face a tough fight to cement a finals berth.
“We’re under no illusions of how difficult it will be for us to remain in the top six,” Jets coach Gary van Egmond said ahead of Friday’s home clash with Adelaide.
“We know that we have to be better than what we were (against the Glory) and we can be better and we’ve shown that. We just have to become more consistent.
“A lot of times our decision-making from defence was probably not the best and they’re areas that we have to get better.”
Van Egmond said skipper Jobe Wheelhouse was only a slight chance to return from an adductor injury.