Terry McFlynn will be a spectator when his side take on the Wanderers this weekend, but despite his injury the Sydney FC skipper is refusing to take a back seat.
Sidlined Sydney FC skipper Terry McFlynn will have to be content playing spectator when his side takes on the Wanderers in the Sydney derby this Saturday night at Parramatta Stadium, but despite his injury McFlynn is still refusing to take a back seat.
It wasn-t all that long ago that many thought the Sky Blues were going to be anchored to the bottom of the table for the duration of the season, and at the time, McFlynn was on the outer with the coach and fans such was his drop in form.
But both Sydney and captain have improved in the latter half of the season, and McFlynn says he never once thought about dropping his head, despite a large amount of negativity directed towards him by the media and fans.
“We started the season terribly for sure and we were anchored to the bottom of the ladder, that-s not a place where Sydney FC are used to being or comfortable being but it-s a credit to the boys and the coaching staff the way we have turned our season around and now we can make a finals run,” McFlynn tells footballaustralia.com.au.
“Sydney FC fans since the first season of the league have been some of the best fans we could have hoped for and quite rightly they were displeased. As captain I had to bear the brunt of that and was happy to take it on the chin.
“If you sulk and complain it does no one any good. I believe as captain I had to set an example, so taking it on the chin is what I had to do and just try and earn my spot back in the side and now we are reaping the benefits of playing as a team on the pitch.”
That they have turned things around is a credit to the playing group and McFlynn for leading his team with dignity back from a tough spot, and while Allianz Stadium has become a fortress for them, seeing them not drop a game in their last seven there, road trips have been different.
Parramatta Stadium may be a short trip down the road from their Macquarie University training base but it still represents one of the most difficult away trips in the league. Yet McFlynn believes they Sky Blues have what it takes to knock the Wanderers from their lofty perch and restart the race for the Premier-s Plate.
“I think it will be a fantastic experience for the boys. Will it be intimidating? A little, but you don-t play football to play in front of empty stadiums, you want the packed crowd and I live in Western Sydney, I know the people are passionate and that passion has driven their club,” McFlynn says.
“Our late season form has been tremendous we haven-t lost at home in our last seven matches and we have won at Parramatta Stadium in the past. We have beaten Perth there and have been one of the few sides to beat the Wanderers there, so we do take some confidence from that.
“There is pressure both ways. They are chasing the Premier-s Plate and we are trying for a spot in the finals. We won-t be thinking about them at all but focussing on our own game and executing the strategies we have worked on. They have been strong but we think we can beat them.
“The last six, seven weeks we have been playing finals style football and this game is really no different to that.”