Ronald Vargas insists that the opportunity for Newcastle Jets to play in front of their home crowd again will serve as the biggest motivation against Melbourne Victory - not revenge.
On Saturday night, the Jets will play their first competitive fixture at the McDonald Jones Stadium since that painful defeat to Victory in the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Grand Final.
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Asked what would be spurring Vargas and his team-mates on ahead of another clash against Victory, the Venezuelan midfielder refused to suggest that May's loss would be central to their thoughts.
He said: "Mostly because it is the first game we’re going to play at home, this is the extra motivation for us and also for the fans and everybody here in the city.
"Then after it is a tough game, it is Melbourne Victory, a game you also will always like to play and the last time we played here we lost, but it’s always beautiful to play these sort of games.
"For a footballer this is the best when you play with your crowd and even when things are not going well it is them who motivate you to do good."
Vargas is also happy to put his injury nightmare behind him after spending almost five months on the sidelines due to a broken and dislocated ankle.
He added: “It’s much better than last year but it’s normal because at the end in the games I was playing with a screw that really restricted my ankle.”
“Now it’s not there so I feel a a lot better and stronger, so it’s good.”
