Skipper Luke Brattan insists Sydney FC's youthful squad won't be troubled by the rise in quality as they plot a deep run into the A-League Men finals series.
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Brattan said ahead of this Saturday's elimination final against Macarthur at Allianz Stadium that when Sydney were on song "there's not many teams in the league that can beat us".
While manager Ufuk Talay has rejuvenated the Sky Blues this season with an injection of youth, a question mark remains over their ability to up the intensity in a do-or-die scenario.
Midfielder Corey Hollman, striker Jaiden Kurcharski, left-back Jordan Courtney-Perkins and centre-backs Hayden Matthews and Jake Girdwood-Reich are expected to feature heavily on Saturday after becoming regulars under Talay.
Among those five, only Girdwood-Reich has previously played in a finals series for Sydney but Brattan stressed the quintet would not be overawed.
"Nerves are normal in any game and nerves are good because it means you're excited," Brattan said.
"People are going to make mistakes. You go through your whole career making mistakes.
"Those two (centre-backs Girdwood-Reich and Matthews) - and Jordy because we forget how young he is really - have been three of our best this year.
"You try and give them little bits of information, they're key for us and they've been great all year."
Sydney smashed Perth 7-1 in their final regular season game to warm up for the finals.
But in a sign he wants to keep their players' feet on the ground, Talay and assistant David Zrillic were keen to highlight the opportunities they missed.
"We won 7-1 and that video session was the longest we've had all year," Brattan said.
"They want perfection and the way we play the fine details - positioning, decision-making - it's very important."
Sydney have failed to beat Macarthur in both their previous meetings this season and Brattan arguably has the hardest job of all - halting the Bulls' playmaker Ulises Davila.
The Mexican maverick can create something out of nothing and the Bulls have made a habit of winning games late on.
"He could play on concrete. Wherever he plays and whatever conditions, he's a fantastic player," Brattan said.
"He's an even better guy as well.
"I'll do my best to stop him but it's not easy and they've got great players all around the park.
"It''ll be a team effort and if everyone concentrates on their job then hopefully we'll get the job."
Australian Associated Press
